Lionel Edwards
Encyclopedia
Lionel Edwards was a British artist who specialized in painting horses and other aspects of British country life. He is best known for his hunting scenes but also painted pictures of horse racing, shooting and fishing. He provided illustrations for Country Life
, The Sphere
, The Graphic
and numerous books.
The son of a doctor, Edwards grew up at Benarth, a small estate in Conway
, North Wales
. His father, from whom he acquired his love of fox hunting
, died when he was seven. From an early age, he showed a talent for drawing horses, an artistic trait which may have come from his maternal grandmother, who was a pupil of George Romney
. It seemed he was heading for an Army
career until it became apparent that his talents did not lie in that direction, so his mother allowed him to study art in London
, first with A.S. Cope
and later at the Heatherley School of Fine Art
and Frank Calderon
's School of Animal Painting. He became the youngest member of the London Sketch Club
at the age of nineteen. In 1905, he married Ethel Wells and the couple moved out of London to Radley
, in Oxfordshire
, and later to Worcestershire
, before moving back to Benarth. They both were enthusiastic fox hunters: during his life, Edwards hunted with almost every pack in the country.
On the outbreak of the Great War, he volunteered as a Remount Purchasing Officer along with his contemporaries, Cecil Aldin
and Sir Alfred Munnings. On being demobilized, he and his family moved to West Tytherley
, near Salisbury
, where he lived for the rest of his life.
His artistic output was remarkable: he wrote almost 30 books and illustrated many more, including editions of Black Beauty
, Lorna Doone
and The Black Arrow
, in addition to numerous private commissions. He became a member of the Royal Cambrian Academy of Art
in 1926 and the Royal Institute
in 1927. His favorite medium was watercolours, although he used oils more in his later years. He worked to the end of his life, dying from a stroke at his home on 13 April, 1966.
Country Life (magazine)
Country Life is a British weekly magazine, based in London at 110 Southwark Street, and owned by IPC Media, a Time Warner subsidiary.- Topics :The magazine covers the pleasures and joys of rural life, as well as the concerns of rural people...
, The Sphere
The Sphere (newspaper)
The Sphere was a British newspaper, published weekly from 27 January 1900 until the closure of the paper on 27 June 1964; the first issue came out at the height of the Boer War and was no doubt a product of that conflict and the public appetite for images...
, The Graphic
The Graphic
The Graphic was a British weekly illustrated newspaper, first published on 4 December 1869 by William Luson Thomas's company Illustrated Newspapers Limited....
and numerous books.
The son of a doctor, Edwards grew up at Benarth, a small estate in Conway
Conwy
Conwy is a walled market town and community in Conwy County Borough on the north coast of Wales. The town, which faces Deganwy across the River Conwy, formerly lay in Gwynedd and prior to that in Caernarfonshire. Conwy has a population of 14,208...
, North Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. His father, from whom he acquired his love of fox hunting
Fox hunting
Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase, and sometimes killing of a fox, traditionally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds, and a group of followers led by a master of foxhounds, who follow the hounds on foot or on horseback.Fox hunting originated in its current...
, died when he was seven. From an early age, he showed a talent for drawing horses, an artistic trait which may have come from his maternal grandmother, who was a pupil of George Romney
George Romney (painter)
George Romney was an English portrait painter. He was the most fashionable artist of his day, painting many leading society figures - including his artistic muse, Emma Hamilton, mistress of Lord Nelson....
. It seemed he was heading for an Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
career until it became apparent that his talents did not lie in that direction, so his mother allowed him to study art in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, first with A.S. Cope
Arthur Stockdale Cope
Arthur Stockdale Cope was an English portrait painter.-Life and work:Cope's father was Charles West Cope , a successful history and genre painter. He trained in art at Carey’s Art School before moving to the Royal Academy schools...
and later at the Heatherley School of Fine Art
Heatherley School of Fine Art
The Heatherley School of Fine Art was named after Thomas Heatherley who took over as principal from James Mathews Leigh . Founded in 1845, the school is affectionately known as Heatherley's...
and Frank Calderon
William Frank Calderon
William Frank Calderon aka W. Frank Calderon , was an English Victorian painter of portraits, landscapes, figure subjects and sporting pictures...
's School of Animal Painting. He became the youngest member of the London Sketch Club
London Sketch Club
The London Sketch Club was founded on 1 April 1898 as a social club for artists working in the field of commercial graphic art, mainly for newspapers, periodicals and books. The founder members were Dudley Hardy, Phil May, Walter Fowler, Lance Thackeray, Cecil Aldin, W Sanders Fiske, Walter...
at the age of nineteen. In 1905, he married Ethel Wells and the couple moved out of London to Radley
Radley
Radley is a village and civil parish about northwest of the centre of Abingdon, Oxfordshire. The parish includes the hamlet of Lower Radley on the River Thames. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire....
, in Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
, and later to Worcestershire
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
, before moving back to Benarth. They both were enthusiastic fox hunters: during his life, Edwards hunted with almost every pack in the country.
On the outbreak of the Great War, he volunteered as a Remount Purchasing Officer along with his contemporaries, Cecil Aldin
Cecil Aldin
Cecil Charles Windsor Aldin was a British artist and illustrator best known for his paintings and sketches of animals, sports, and rural life.-Life and work:...
and Sir Alfred Munnings. On being demobilized, he and his family moved to West Tytherley
West Tytherley
West Tytherley is a village in the Test Valley district of Hampshire, England. Its nearest town is Stockbridge, which lies approximately 6 miles north-east from the village, although its post town comes under Salisbury. The village shares a joint parish council with the neighbouring parish of...
, near Salisbury
Salisbury
Salisbury is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England and the only city in the county. It is the second largest settlement in the county...
, where he lived for the rest of his life.
His artistic output was remarkable: he wrote almost 30 books and illustrated many more, including editions of Black Beauty
Black Beauty
Black Beauty is an 1877 novel by English author Anna Sewell. It was composed in the last years of her life, during which she remained in her house as an invalid. The novel became an immediate bestseller, with Sewell dying just five months after its publication, long enough to see her first and only...
, Lorna Doone
Lorna Doone
Lorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor is a novel by Richard Doddridge Blackmore. It is a romance based on a group of historical characters and set in the late 17th century in Devon and Somerset, particularly around the East Lyn Valley area of Exmoor....
and The Black Arrow
The Black Arrow
The Black Arrow: A Tale of the Two Roses is an 1888 novel by Robert Louis Stevenson. It is both an historical adventure novel and a romance. It first appeared as a serial in 1883 with the subtitle "A Tale of Tunstall Forest" beginning in Young Folks; A Boys' and Girls' Paper of Instructive and...
, in addition to numerous private commissions. He became a member of the Royal Cambrian Academy of Art
Royal Cambrian Academy of Art
The Royal Cambrian Academy of Art is a centre of excellence for art in Wales. Its main gallery is located in Conwy and it has over a hundred members.thumb|right|240px|Plas Mawr, Conwy-Early history:...
in 1926 and the Royal Institute
Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours
The Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours , initially called the New Society of Painters in Water Colours, , is one of the societies in the Federation of British Artists, based in the Mall Galleries in London.-History:In 1831 the society was founded as the New Society of Painters in Water...
in 1927. His favorite medium was watercolours, although he used oils more in his later years. He worked to the end of his life, dying from a stroke at his home on 13 April, 1966.
As author/illustrator
- Hunting Countries (1925)
- The Passing Seasons (1927)
- Hunting and Stalking Deer (1927) - with H.F. Wallace
- My Hunting Sketchbook: Vol 1 (1928)
- Huntsmen Past & Present (1929)
- My Scottish Sketchbook (1929)
- My Hunting Sketchbook: Vol 2 (1930)
- The Wiles of the Fox (1932)
- Famous Foxhunters (1932)
- Sketches in Stable and Kennel (1933)
- A Leicestershire Sketchbook (1935)
- Hunting Problems (1936)
- A Sportsman's Bag (1938)
- Seen from the Saddle (1937)
- Horses and Ponies (1938)
- My Irish Sketch Book (1938)
- The Lighter Side of Sport (1940)
- Scarlet and Corduroy (1941)
- Our Food from Farm to Table (1943)
- Our Horses (1945)
- Reminiscences of a Sporting Artist (1947)
- My First Horse (1947)
- Our Cattle (1948)
- Getting to Know Your Pony (1948)
- The Fox (1949)
- Beasts of the Chase (1950)
- Thy Servant the Horse (1952)
- Sportsman's Sketchbook (1953)
- Whitbread Dog Calendar (1966), with Peter Biegel
As illustrator
- Lyle, Robert (1934) Brown Jack
- Flint, Mark (1938) Grig the Greyhound
- 'Golden Gorse'Muriel WaceGolden Gorse .Muriel Wace was an English children's book author known by the pseudonym Golden Gorse....
(Muriel Wace)(1929) Moorland MousieMuriel WaceGolden Gorse .Muriel Wace was an English children's book author known by the pseudonym Golden Gorse.... - 'Golden Gorse'Muriel WaceGolden Gorse .Muriel Wace was an English children's book author known by the pseudonym Golden Gorse....
(Muriel Wace)(1932) Older MousieMuriel WaceGolden Gorse .Muriel Wace was an English children's book author known by the pseudonym Golden Gorse.... - Winstone, Daphne (1945) Flame
- Sewell, Anna (1946) Black BeautyBlack BeautyBlack Beauty is an 1877 novel by English author Anna Sewell. It was composed in the last years of her life, during which she remained in her house as an invalid. The novel became an immediate bestseller, with Sewell dying just five months after its publication, long enough to see her first and only...
- Morris, Pamela Macgregor (1947) Topper
- Herald, Kathleen (K.M. Peyton)(1949) The Mandrake
- Blackmore, R.D. (1954) Lorna Doone