George Edward Lodge FZS, (3 December 1860 – 5 February 1954)Savory ''op. cit.'' was a British illustrator of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

s and an authority on

falconry Falconry is the hunting of wild animals in their natural state and habitat by means of a trained bird of prey. Small animals are hunted; squirrels and rabbits often fall prey to these birds. Two traditional terms are used to describe a person ...

Early life

George Edward Lodge was born at

Scrivelsby Scrivelsby is a village and ecclesiastical parish in the East Lindsey district of the County of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated south of Horncastle and is on the B1183 road east from the A153 road. It is administered by the civil parish ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

. His father,

Samuel Lodge The Rev. Samuel Lodge (11 February 1829 – 5 September 1897) was the author of ''Scrivelsby, the Home of the Queen's Champion, Champions'' He was a headmaster of Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle, Horncastle Grammar School, Lincolnshire ...

(1829–1897), was a

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western can ...

Lincoln Cathedral Lincoln Cathedral, Lincoln Minster, or the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln and sometimes St Mary's Cathedral, in Lincoln, England, is a Grade I listed cathedral and is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Lincoln. Constructio ...

and rector of Scrivelsby, Lincolnshire. G. E. Lodge was the seventh child of eleven, and the fifth son. His brother is the photographer Reginald Badham Lodge (1852–1937). He was educated at home, and became an accomplished taxidermist. He travelled abroad in search of birds and sport, visiting

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

and the United States. He was, however, most at home in the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Sco ...

. He attended

Lincoln School of Art The Lincoln College of Art was an educational institution devoted to the arts, based in the English city of Lincoln with its origins in the mid-nineteenth century. The institution changed shape and name numerous times over its history before bein ...

and studied and worked in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

In 1897, when he was elected a member of the

British Ornithologists Union The British Ornithologists' Union (BOU) aims to encourage the study of birds ("ornithology") and around the world, in order to understand their biology and to aid their conservation. The BOU was founded in 1858 by Professor Alfred Newton, Henry ...

, he lived in the so-calle
'Verulam Buildings'
in

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

. In 1902 he moved to the
Thurloe Studios
on

Thurloe Square Thurloe Square is a traditional garden square in South Kensington, London, England. There are private communal gardens in the centre of the square for use by the local residents. The Victoria and Albert Museum is close by to the north across ...

. before moving around 1920According to th
1919
an
1920
members list of the BOU. to

Camberley Camberley is a town in the Borough of Surrey Heath in Surrey, England, approximately south-west of Central London. The town is in the far west of the county, close to the borders of Hampshire and Berkshire. Once part of Windsor Forest, Cambe ...

, Surrey.

Works

One of the earliest works for which he made illustrations was

Lord Lilford Baron Lilford, of Lilford in the County of Northampton, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1797 for Thomas Powys, who had previously represented Northamptonshire in the House of Commons. His grandson, the third Baron, ...

’s ''Birds of

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

'', in conjunction with

Archibald Thorburn Archibald Thorburn FZS (31 May 1860, Lasswade, Midlothian – 9 October 1935, Hascombe, Surrey) was a Scottish artist who specialised in wildlife, painting mostly in watercolour. He regularly visited Scotland to sketch birds in the wild, his f ...

, whose skill as a bird-artist Lodge greatly admired. This admiration was returned as in the early 1910s Thorburn was approached by a representative of the New Zealand Government regarding a commission to provide plates for a proposed book of New Zealand native birds. Thorburn recommended Lodge for the commission and in 1913 Lodge began work. He studied bird skin specimens from a number of different collections in Britain including the

Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more. ...

and eventually supplied 90 plates to the Wildlife Service of the Department of Internal Affairs of New Zealand. Due to the illness of the author the proposed book was never finished and the plates remained with the Department of Internal Affairs until they were transferred to the

Dominion Museum The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. ''Te Papa Tongarewa'' translates literally to "container of treasures" or in full "container of treasured things and people that spring fr ...

in 1948. In 1983 the remaining 89 plates were eventually published in the book ''George Edward Lodge: The Unpublished New Zealand Bird Paintings'' with text by C.A. Fleming. Lodge was also an expert at

woodcut Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas that ...

s, in which craft he contributed to books by

Henry Seebohm Henry Seebohm (12 July 1832 – 26 November 1895) was an English steel manufacturer, and amateur ornithologist, oologist and traveller. Biography Henry was the oldest son of Benjamin Seebohm (1798–1871) who was a wool merchant at Horton Gra ...

and

Badminton Library The ''Badminton Library'', called in full ''The Badminton Library of Sports and Pastimes'', was a sporting and publishing project conceived by Longmans Green & Co. and edited by Henry Somerset, 8th Duke of Beaufort (1824–1899). Between 1885 a ...

. His illustrations appeared in Beebe’s ''

Monograph A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject. In library cataloging, ''monograph ...

of the

Pheasants Pheasants ( ) are birds of several genera within the family Phasianidae in the order Galliformes. Although they can be found all over the world in introduced (and captive) populations, the pheasant genera native range is restricted to Eurasi ...

'' and Eliot Howard’s ''Introduction to Bird Behaviour'' (1929). He published his only book, ''Memoirs of an Artist Naturalist'' in 1946, illustrating it with his own pictures. One of his last acts, shortly before his eyesight became impaired, was to institute a

trust fund A trust is a legal relationship in which the holder of a right gives it to another person or entity who must keep and use it solely for another's benefit. In the Anglo-American common law, the party who entrusts the right is known as the "settl ...

for the publication of original works in natural history: the first publication was ''The Birds of the British Isles'' by Dr David Bannerman, for which Lodge painted 377 illustrations depicting 435

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

Conservation

Lodge took an active part in the conservation of wild life. He served for many years on the executive council of the

Society for the Promotion of Nature Reserves The Wildlife Trusts, the trading name of the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts, is an organisation made up of 46 local Wildlife Trusts in the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man and Alderney. The Wildlife Trusts, between them, look after more than 2 ...

, and was also an active member of the

International Committee for Bird Protection BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...

. In 1945 he was elected Vice-President of the

British Ornithologists' Union The British Ornithologists' Union (BOU) aims to encourage the study of birds ("ornithology") and around the world, in order to understand their biology and to aid their conservation. The BOU was founded in 1858 by Professor Alfred Newton, Henry ...

, the first artist to be so honoured.

Death and burial

Lodge died in hospital on 5 February 1954 at

Frimley Frimley is a town in the Borough of Surrey Heath in Surrey, England, approximately southwest of central London. The town is of Saxon origin, although it is not listed in Domesday Book of 1086. Train services to Frimley (on the line betwe ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

and his ashes were interred in the same churchyard as his parents' grave at St Benedict's,

Horncastle Horncastle is a town and civil parish in the East Lindsey district in Lincolnshire, east of Lincoln. Its population was 6,815 at the 2011 census and estimated at 7,123 in 2019. A section of the ancient Roman walls remains. History Romans Alt ...

, Lincolnshire.

Recognition

The author of his obituary in ''The Times'' wrote:

A man of most exceptional charm and distinction, odgewas recognized on both sides of the
Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
as one of the finest bird-artists
this country ''This Country'' is a British mockumentary sitcom, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Three on 8 February 2017. Created by, written by and starring siblings Daisy May Cooper and Charlie Cooper and directed by Tom George, the series f ...
has ever produced. His wide experience in falconry doubtless gave him special knowledge of the
hawk Hawks are bird of prey, birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica. * The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks and others. Th ...
family, for he was a keen falconer from his earliest days. In the painting of birds of prey he had no rival in any country. He was primarily an artist but, being a good naturalist as well, he was able to depict his subjects among their natural surroundings and to make them look alive.Obituary in ''The Times'', Tuesday 9 February 1954

An exhibition of Lodge's work, to mark the 150th anniversary of his birth, was held at

Nature in Art Nature in Art is a museum and art gallery at Wallsworth Hall, Twigworth, Gloucester, England, dedicated exclusively to art inspired by nature in all forms, styles and media. The museum has twice been specially commended in the National Heritage ...

, Gloucester, from 30 March–9 May 2010.

Bibliography

His illustrations were used in books including: * Baker, E C S (1900) The Indian Doves and Their Allies * Baker, E C S (1908) Indian Ducks and Their Allies * Baker, E C S (1921–1930) The Game-Birds of India, Burma and Ceylon * Bannerman, D A (1930–1951) Birds of Tropical West Africa * Bannerman, D A and Bannerman, W M (1958) Birds of Cyprus * Bannerman, D A and Bannerman, W M (1963–1968) Birds of the Atlantic Islands * Bannerman, D A and Bannerman, W M (1971) Handbook of the Birds of Cyprus and Migrants of the Middle East * Baxter, E V & Rintoul, L J (1953) The Birds of Scotland * Beebe, W (1926) Pheasants, their lives and homes * Chapin, J P (1932–1954) The Birds of the Belgian Congo * Coombes, R A H (1952) Mountain Birds * Evans, A H (1899) Birds * Fleming, C A (1983) George Edward Lodge - The Unpublished New Zealand Bird Paintings * Hollom, P A D (1960) The Popular Handbook of Rarer British Birds * Howard, Henry Eliot (1929) Introduction to Bird Behaviour * Howard, Henry Eliot (1940) A waterhen's world * Howard, Henry Eliot (1948) Territory in bird life * Hudson, W H (1895) British Birds * Jackson, F J – (1938) The Birds of Kenya Colony and the Uganda Protectorate * Kelsall & Munn (1905) The Birds of Hampshire and The Isle of Wight * Lilford (Lord) (1895) Notes on the Birds of Northamptonshire and Neighbourhood * Lodge, G E (1946) Memoirs of an Artist Naturalist * Mavrogordato, Jack (1960) A Hawk for the Bush. A treatise on the training of the Sparrow-hawk and other Short-winged Hawks * Meinertzhagen, R (1930) Nicoll's Birds of Egypt * Meinertzhagen, R (1954) Birds of Arabia * Meinertzhagen, R (1959) Pirates and Predators * Ogilvie-Grant, WE et al. (1912) The Gun at Home and Abroad * Rothschild, L. W. (1907) Extinct Birds * Savory J (ed) (1986) George Lodge, Artist Naturalist * Smith, R B (1905) Bird Life and Bird Lore * Vincent, J (1980) A Season of Birds

Biography

*''George Lodge - Artist Naturalist'' John Savory (Ed.),

Croom Helm Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law, and ...

, 1986 *Obituary, J. K. Stanford, in '' The Field'', 25 February 1954 *Obituary in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' Tuesday 9 February 1954 (page 9 column 1)

Notable relatives

* Sir Oliver Joseph Lodge Physicist *

Sir Richard Lodge Sir Richard Lodge (20 June 1855 – 2 June 1936) was a British historian. He was born at Penkhull, Staffordshire, the fourth of eight sons and a daughter of Oliver Lodge (1826–1884) – later a china clay merchant at Wolstanton, Staffordshire � ...

Historian *

Eleanor Constance Lodge __NOTOC__ Eleanor Constance Lodge (18 September 1869, Hanley, Staffordshire – 19 March 1936) was a British academic who served as vice-principal of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford from 1906 to 1921 and then principal of Westfield College, Hampstead, ...

Historian * Carron O Lodge Artist * Francis Graham Lodge Artist

References

External links

* *
Artworks in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

Anthony Woodd Gallery

''The Times archive

Photograph of George Edward Lodge at the National Portrait Gallery, London
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lodge, George Edward 1860 births 1954 deaths People from Scrivelsby English naturalists English ornithologists Fellows of the Zoological Society of London British bird artists People associated with the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa Artists' Rifles soldiers 19th-century British painters British male painters 20th-century British painters 19th-century British male artists 20th-century British male artists