Basil Ede (1931— 2016) was an English wildlife artist specialising in avian portraiture, noted for the ornithological precision of his paintings.
The first one-man exhibition of Basil Ede's work was held at the Rowland Ward Gallery in London in 1958. Further one man exhibitions followed at London's Tryon Gallery in 1960 and 1962.
In 1964, Ede became the first living artist to be honoured with a one-man show at the National Collection of Fine Arts, Washington D.C. The event was sponsored by the British Embassy, the English Speaking Union and the National Audubon Society.
In 1965, Ede's first book, "Birds of Town and Village" was published by Country Life Books, featuring thirty six plates of his work in full colour. The publication features a foreword written by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and text by ornithologist W. D. Campbell, republished by Chartwell Books in 2004.
In 1966, 1971 and 1979 one man exhibitions of Ede's work were held at the Kennedy Galleries in New York. In 1971 Ede was commissioned by Walter Annenberg, then serving as United States Ambassador to the Court of St. James, to paint a series of eastern Pennsylvanian birds for his private collection. Also in 1971, a chance encounter with another American collector, Jack Warner, led to the commissioning of "The Wild Birds of America" series.
In 1991, the book "Wild birds of America - the Art of Basil Ede" was published by Harry N. Abrams, featuring 103 colour reproductions from the Wild Birds of America series, as well as reproductions from Ede's field notes and sketches. In his foreword, Prince Philip, himself a collector of Ede's work, ranked the English painter among the world's great wildlife artists.
Following a severe stroke in 1989, Ede was left with his right arm paralysed and taught himself to paint with his left hand instead. "I lost the use of my right side completely and I couldn't speak." he later told Nigel Reynolds in an interview for the Daily Telegraph in November 1999. He switched his chosen medium from watercolour to oils. Within a year he was once again painting competently and within three he was able to paint in considerable detail. In May 1992, some of Ede's new works in oils were exhibited at the Tryon and Morland Gallery in London as part of their "Twenty years in Cork Street" show. Also in 1992, Ede was honoured with a "Lifetime Achievement Award" by the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition in Charleston, South Carolina. In July 1993, the Wimborne Arts Festival (Dorset, UK) chose to honour Ede with a one-man exhibition of his work in oils.
Basil Ede was one of the founder members of the Society of Wildlife Artists and an honorary trustee of Ducks Unlimited (a wildfowl and wetland conservation organisation) in the United States He was also a life member and supporter of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
Basil Ede died on 29 September 2016, at the age of eighty five, following a short illness. He is survived by his wife, and two sons.
