Rory Lewis (born 5 October 1982 in

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

, England) is a British photographer known for his celebrity portrait photography. Lewis's inspirations include the works of the artists Hans Holbein the younger,

Caravaggio Michelangelo Merisi (Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi) da Caravaggio, known as simply Caravaggio (, , ; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the final four years of hi ...

Titian Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italian (Venetian) painter of the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, n ...

and

Thomas Lawrence Sir Thomas Lawrence (13 April 1769 – 7 January 1830) was an English portrait painter and the fourth president of the Royal Academy. A child prodigy, he was born in Bristol and began drawing in Devizes, where his father was an innkeeper at t ...

and the

German Expressionist German Expressionism () consisted of several related creative movements in Germany before the First World War that reached a peak in Berlin during the 1920s. These developments were part of a larger Expressionist movement in north and central ...

movement of the 1920s.

Education

Lewis originally studied Medieval History at King's College London.

Works

In 2012, Lewis held his first exhibition, Keeping Abreast, at the Bluecoat Gallery in Liverpool. Held in aid of

Macmillan Cancer Support Macmillan Cancer Support is one of the largest British charities and provides specialist health care, information and financial support to people affected by cancer. It also looks at the social, emotional and practical impact cancer can have, ...

, the collection featured unseen portraits. David Warner (Actor) Rory Lewis Photographer

In 2013, his portrait of actor David Warner was acquired by the National Portrait Gallery, London. The portrait was Warner's first sitting since Cecil Beaton photographed him in the mid 1960s. In 2014, Lewis photographed and held his first major portrait photography exhibition. Entitled 'Northerners', the project was an entirely new collection of portraits from a cross section of northern English actors, celebrities, sports personalities, and politicians. Held in aid of

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid t ...

, the exhibition featured portraits of

Patrick Stewart Sir Patrick Stewart (born 13 July 1940) is an English actor who has a career spanning seven decades in various stage productions, television, film and video games. He has been nominated for Olivier, Tony, Golden Globe, Emmy, and Screen Acto ...

Ian McKellen Sir Ian Murray McKellen (born 25 May 1939) is an English actor. His career spans seven decades, having performed in genres ranging from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. Regarded as a British cultural ...

Ian McShane Ian David McShane (born 29 September 1942) is an English actor, producer and director. He is known for his television performances, particularly as the title role in the BBC series '' Lovejoy'' (1986–1994), Al Swearengen in ''Deadwood'' (20 ...

Emma Rigby Emma Catherine Rigby (born 26 September 1989) is an English actress. After rising to prominence for her role as Hannah Ashworth in ''Hollyoaks'', she later played Gemma Roscoe in the BBC One drama series '' Prisoners' Wives'' and as the Red Qu ...

Beth Tweddle Elizabeth Kimberly Tweddle (born 1 April 1985) is a retired British artistic gymnast. Renowned for her uneven bar and floor routines, she was the first female gymnast from Great Britain to win a medal at the European Championships, World Cham ...

Craig Charles Craig Joseph Charles (born 11 July 1964) is an English actor, comedian, television and radio presenter. He is best known for his roles as Dave Lister in the science fiction sitcom ''Red Dwarf'' and Lloyd Mullaney in the soap opera ''Coronatio ...

, General Sir

Nick Houghton General John Nicholas Reynolds Houghton, Baron Houghton of Richmond, ( ; born 18 October 1954) is a retired senior British Army officer and former Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) of the British Armed Forces. He was appointed CDS in July 2013, ...

and Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson. In May 2014, Lewis photographed Uruguayan footballer Luis Suarez in a campaign for Pepsi. In 2016 Lewis photographed all the remaining

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

George Cross The George Cross (GC) is the highest award bestowed by the British government for non-operational gallantry or gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. In the British honours system, the George Cross, since its introduction in 1940, has be ...

recipients for a new portrait project. In 2017 Lewis photographed actor

Rufus Sewell Rufus Frederik Sewell (; born 29 October 1967) is a British film and stage actor. In film, he has appeared in ''Carrington'' (1995), '' ''Hamlet' (1996), '' Dangerous Beauty'' (1998), '' Dark City'' (1998), ''A Knight's Tale ''(2001), '' The ...

in Los Angeles. The portrait was acquired by the National Portrait Gallery. Throughout 2016–17, Lewis embarked on a portrait project entitled Soldiery

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...

Portraits. Photographing over 278 British soldiers, and publishing a book of the collection. The collection was exhibited at Armed Forces Day Liverpool 24 June and then moved to The National Army Museum in London from 31 January – 12 February 2018. As part of the Soldiery project, Lewis held portrait sitting with WO2 Deborah Penny, Britain's first transgender soldier to serve in the front line. In 2018 Lewis embarked on a new project entitled Portraitist, including portraits of former prime minister

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...

. The portrait sitting was featured by the Guardian Newspaper.

References

External links

Rory Lewis Photographer Website

Rory Lewis 2012 Photography Exhibition Video

BBC News Rory Lewis Exhibition Northerners

Rory Lewis Exhibition Portraitist
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Rory 1982 births Living people Alumni of King's College London British portrait photographers Photographers from Cheshire People from Chester