The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

Hardwar, India

1875

Edward Lear

(British, 1812–1888)
England
Watecolor over pencil, heightened with white
Matted: 40.6 x 54.1 cm (16 x 21 5/16 in.); Sheet: 25.4 x 39.7 cm (10 x 15 5/8 in.)
Delia E. Holden Fund 2023.127
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Describing this site, Edward Lear wrote in his 1874 journal: The beauty of the pagodas and shrines and houses here is indescribable, and the whole scene is perhaps the most beautiful I have seen anywhere in India.

Description

Known for his limericks and nonsense rhymes, such as The Owl and the Pussycat, Edward Lear was primarily a landscape painter. In 1848, he left Europe for extensive explorations to the Mediterranean, the Levant, and Southeast Asia, making drawings of the landscapes along the way. He reached Hardiwar (alt. spelling Hardwar), located northeast of Delhi on the right bank of the Ganges where the river exits the Himalayan foothills, on April 2, 1874. This finished watercolor was made a year after his visit, based on his on-site sketches and assiduous notes. He depicted the vibrant mass of people on the stairway to the Ganges from across the river and the majestic mountains beyond.
  • Lady d’Avigdor Goldsmid
    Caroline Stroude
    Francis Sitwell (1935-2004)
    By descent at Weston Hall, Northamptonshire until 2021
    2021–23
    (Karen Taylor Fine Art, London, England), sold to The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
    September 11, 2023–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • {{cite web|title=Hardwar, India|url=false|author=Edward Lear|year=1875|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2023.127