George Robert Lewis (1782–1871) was a versatile English painter of landscapes and portraits.

Life

The younger brother of

Frederick Christian Lewis Frederick Christian Lewis (1779–1856) was an English etcher, aquatint and stipple engraver, landscape and portrait painter and the brother of Charles Lewis (1786–1836). Life He studied under J. C. Stadler and in the schools of the Royal ...

and of Charles Lewis the bookbinder, he was born in London on 27 March 1782. He studied under

Henry Fuseli Henry Fuseli ( ; ; 7 February 1741 – 17 April 1825) was a Swiss painter, draughtsman, and writer on art who spent much of his life in Britain. Many of his successful works depict supernatural experiences, such as '' The Nightmare''. He pr ...

in the schools of the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

, and worked on both nature and antiquities. Lewis sent landscapes to the exhibitions of 1805–7; he at that time lived with his brother Frederick at Enfield, and worked for him on

John Chamberlaine John Chamberlaine (1745 – 12 January 1812 in Paddington Green) was an antiquary and acted as keeper of George III's drawings, coins and medals from 1791 until his death in 1812. He published prints of drawings in the Royal Collection by Hol ...

's ''Original Designs of the most celebrated Masters'' and William Young Ottley's ''Italian School of Design'', for both of which he made

aquatint Aquatint is an intaglio printmaking technique, a variant of etching that produces areas of tone rather than lines. For this reason it has mostly been used in conjunction with etching, to give both lines and shaded tone. It has also been used ...

plates. In 1813, he toured North Wales with

John Linnell John Sidney Linnell ( ; born June 12, 1959) is an American musician and multi-instrumentalist, and is one half of the Brooklyn-based alternative rock band They Might Be Giants, with John Flansburgh, which was formed in 1982. In addition to sing ...

. In 1818, he accompanied

Thomas Frognall Dibdin Thomas Frognall Dibdin (177618 November 1847) was an English bibliographer, born in Calcutta to Thomas Dibdin, the sailor brother of the composer Charles Dibdin. Dibdin was orphaned at a young age. His father and mother died in 1780 while re ...

, to make drawings, on a continental journey, and his illustrations to the ''Bibliographical and Picturesque Tour through France and Germany'' were published in 1821. From 1820 to 1859, Lewis exhibited portraits, landscapes, and figure subjects at the Royal Academy, the

British Institution The British Institution (in full, the British Institution for Promoting the Fine Arts in the United Kingdom; founded 1805, disbanded 1867) was a private 19th-century society in London formed to exhibit the works of living and dead artists; it ...

, the

Suffolk Street Gallery The Royal Society of British Artists (RBA) is a British art body established in 1823 as the Society of British Artists, as an alternative to the Royal Academy. History The RBA commenced with twenty-seven members, and took until 1876 to reach fi ...

, and the Oil and Water-colour Society. He died at

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

on 15 May 1871.

Works

Lewis executed some of the plates for Dibdin's ''Bibliographical Decameron'' (1817), in which he and his brothers Frederick and Charles were eulogised. He etched a series of ''Groups illustrating the Physiognomy, Manners, and Character of the People of France and Germany'', issued in parts and completed in 1823. He published, among other works: * ''Views of the Muscles of the Human Body'', 1820; * ''Banks of the Loire illustrated—Tours''; * ''Illustrations of Phrenology'', 1841; * ''Illustrations of Kilpeck Church, Herefordshire, with an Essay on Ecclesiastical Design and a Descriptive Interpretation'', 1842; * ''The Ancient Font of Little Walsingham Church'', 1843; and * ''The Ancient Church of Shobdon, Herefordshire, illustrated and described'', 1852; reissued in 1856. Some of Lewis's portraits were engraved, and he aquatinted a large plate of the procession of the knights of the order of the Bath in

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

, after Frederick Nash. In 1838, he printed ''An Address on the subject of Education as connected with Design in every department of British Manufacture, together with Hints on the Education of the Poor generally'' (Hereford).

Notes

Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, George Robert 1782 births 1871 deaths English landscape painters English portrait painters English engravers