Galata, Constantinople

Details

Edward Lear (1812-1888)
Galata, Constantinople
inscribed and dated 'Galata/Constantinople/3.Septbr..1848' (lower left) and further inscribed with colour notes across the sheet
pencil, pen and ink and watercolour, and heightened with white
11¼ x 8in. (28.5 x 20.3cm.)

Provenance

Mrs Robert Frank.
London, Gooden and Fox, Edward Lear 1812-1888, 15 October-1 November 1968, no.62.

Exhibited

Athens, a loan exhibition from the Gennadius Library circulated by the International Exhibitions Foundation, Edward Lear in Greece, 1971-72.

Special notice

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Lot Essay

Edward Lear arrived in Constantinople by steamer from Athens on 1 August 1848 and he was captivated by the view of the city from the sea. He wrote to his sister Anne on 12 August 1848: 'Certainly, no city is so wonderfully beautiful when you approach it - it was far beyond my idea...' Although he fell ill upon his arrival in the city, he resumed his sketching avidly from 28 August until his departure for Greece on 9 September (see V.Noakes Edward Lear - The life of a Wanderer). Another Lear watercolour of The Walls of Constantinople was sold in these Rooms, 24 March 1987, lot 151 (£6,500).

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