Lionel Edwards was a British artist who specialized in painting horses and other aspects of British country life.
Background
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. lieutenant 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 Associate of Science
Career
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 Cope and later at the Heatherley School of Fine Art and Frank Calderon"s School of Animal Painting.
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. 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.
Membership
He became the youngest member of the London Sketch Club at the age of nineteen. He became a member of the Royal Cambrian Academy of Art in 1926 and the Royal Institute in 1927.