Vere Foster's Drawing Copy Book O4: British Wild Animals
Author Vere Foster Irish
Sitter Queen Victoria British
Not on view
The title page of this drawing book is decorated with a small portrait of Queen Victoria at the age of eight. The publisher Vere Foster came from an aristocratic family with Irish estates. After his father's death in 1848, Foster gave up a diplomatic career to devoted himself to Irish causes, one of which was to improve the standards of primary education. Allied himself with both the Catholic and Protestant clergy, he supported the construction of school houses and designed appealing instructional books. The present example comes from a series that helped young students develop their draftsmanship.
