Lear was an English artist, author and traveller, who today is probably best known for his Nonsense verses, and the whimsical poem ‘The Owl and the Pussycat’.  Throughout his life, Lear travelled extensively throughout Europe, the Middle East and India, visiting places that at the time were off the beaten track, and often despite difficult weather conditions.  He never missed an opportunity to sketch and to record his impressions of that particular place in his journals or in his letters home.   Lear first came to Malta in 1848, again in 1849, and also spent the winter months of 1865 to 1866 on the island.  This watercolour was a gift to Gollcher from his friend Sir Harry Luke, who was Lieutenant Governor of Malta from 1930 to 1938.