Collection Summary
Lewis, Wyndham, 1882-1957
Wyndham Lewis Art Collection
1898-1949 (bulk circa 1919-1932)
Art Collection AR-00162
1 box, 1 oversize folder (14 items)
Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin
The collection consists of nine portraits (eight
drawings and one lithograph) and one self-portrait by Wyndham Lewis, and two
watercolor landscapes by his mother, Anne Stuart Lewis.
No linguistic material present
Acquisition:
Purchases (R830, R2683, R2726, R3480, R4957, R5180) and gifts
Access:
Open for research. A minimum of twenty-four hours is required to pull art materials
to the Reading Room.
Processed by:
Alice Egan, 1997, and Helen Young, 2001
Biographical Sketch
Wyndham Lewis was a novelist, critic, and a predominant experimental artist who
founded Vorticism, an early 20th century English abstract art movement. Lewis was
born November 18, 1882, near Amherst, Nova Scotia, Canada, to Captain Charles Edward
Lewis of New York and Anne Stuart (née Prickett) Lewis of England. In 1893, his parents separated,
and he moved with his mother to London. At the age of sixteen, Lewis enrolled in the
Slade School of Art, where he spent the next three years studying. Following his
formal education, Lewis left for the continent; between 1901 and 1909 he spent most
of his time in France, but also traveled in Germany, Spain, and Holland.
Lewis returned to England in 1909, and that same year saw three of his stories
published in the
English Review. Subsequent to the
publication of these stories, Lewis joined the literary circle of Ford Madox
Hueffer, later known as Ford Madox Ford. While pursuing his literary career, Lewis
continued to produce visual works of art. In 1911, his drawings were exhibited with
the Camden Town Group, and in 1912 he had works in the Post-Impressionist exhibition
organized by Roger Fry. The following year, Lewis joined Roger Fry's Omega workshop,
only to split from the group later that same year. In 1913, Lewis also took part in
Frank Rutter's Post-Impressionist and Futurist exhibition, and in an exhibition with
the London Group.
In 1914, Lewis founded his own group, the Rebel Art Centre, and its movement,
Vorticism (named by Ezra Pound). In 1914 and 1915, Lewis published the only two
issues of the Vorticist review,
Blast. During this
time he was mainly associated with such figures as Richard Aldington,
Gaudier-Brzeska, Ezra Pound, William Roberts, and Edward Wadsworth.
Lewis served in World War I. His first novel,
Tarr,
was published in 1918. In 1919, he attempted to revive Vorticism under the name X
Group, which held one exhibition in 1920. After this time, Lewis was not connected
with any art groups, but he continued exhibiting his work, in addition to publishing
books and articles. He spent the years of World War II in the United States and
Canada, but returned to England in 1945. In 1946, he became the art critic of the
Listener. Wyndham Lewis died March 7, 1957, in
London.
Source
Bertram, A. (1972).
Percy Wyndham Lewis. In E.
T. Williams & H. M. Palmer (eds.), The Dictionary of
National Biography, 1951-1960, (pp. 626-9). London: Oxford University
Press.
Scope and Contents
The Wyndham Lewis Art Collection consists of nine portraits (eight drawings and one
lithograph) and one self-portrait by Wyndham Lewis, and two watercolor landscapes by
his mother, Anne Stuart Lewis. The works, which span between 1898 and 1949, are
divided into two series: I. Works by Wyndham Lewis, and II. Works by Anne Stuart
Lewis. Works within each series are arranged alphabetically by title. Titles are
transcribed from the items; cataloger's titles appear in brackets. The portrait
subjects include Lewis' contemporaries, namely G. K. Chesterton, T. S. Eliot, James
Joyce, T. E. Lawrence, Ezra Pound, and J. B. Priestley.
The Art Collection holds an additional drawing by Lewis, a portrait of Nancy Cunard,
which can be found in the Nancy Cunard Art Collection. Two portrait etchings of
Lewis can be found in the Augustus John Art Collection and the David Schorr Art
Collection. Other works held by the Ransom Center, both by and about Lewis, can be
found in the Manuscripts Collection, the Photography Collection, and the
Library.
Wyndham Lewis Art Collection--Item List
Series I. Works by Wyndham Lewis, 1919-1949,
undated
1.1
Lewis, Wyndham. [G. K. Chesterton].
1932.
1 drawing: pencil, 38.1 x 28 cm.
69.104
1.2
Lewis, Wyndham. Head of T. S. Eliot.
1925.
1 drawing: pencil and watercolor, 31 x 25.6
cm.
67.52
1.3
Lewis, Wyndham. [Head of T. S. Eliot, study].
Undated.
1 drawing: pencil, 31.5 x 26.3 cm.
65.82
Flat file
Lewis, Wyndham. [T. S. Eliot, 1949].
1949.
1 drawing: charcoal, 56.1 x 38.6 cm.
65.95
1.4
Lewis, Wyndham. Rough note for [T. S.] Eliot.
1938.
1 drawing: charcoal, 38.2 x 28.6 cm.
69.148
1.5
Lewis, Wyndham. Drawing of James Joyce.
1920.
1 reproductive print, 34.1 x 27.1
cm.
69.106
1.6
Lewis, Wyndham. Drawing of James Joyce.
1920.
1 reproductive print, 32.3 x 24.1
cm.
74.49
1.7
Lewis, Wyndham. T. E. Lawrence of Arabia.
1929.
1 drawing: pencil and white, 23.7 x 22 cm.
69.91
1.8
Lewis, Wyndham. [Wyndham Lewis, self-portrait].
1931.
1 drawing: pencil, 34.1 x 27.1 cm.
65.70
1.9
Lewis, Wyndham. [Ezra Pound].
Circa 1919.
1 drawing: charcoal pencil, 25.4 x 17.7
cm.
65.180
1.10
Lewis, Wyndham. [Ezra Pound].
Undated.
1 drawing: charcoal pencil, 37 x 32.4 cm.
65.216
1.11
Lewis, Wyndham. J. B. Priestley.
1932.
1 print: lithograph, 34.9 x 27.2 cm.
65.442
Series II. Works by Anne Stuart Lewis, 1898-1948?
1.12
Lewis, A. S. [Two landscapes].
1948?
1 drawing: watercolor, 16 x 34.2 cm.
79.321.1
1.13
Lewis, A. S. [Waterfront with boats and dock].
1898.
1 drawing: watercolor and pencil, 23.2 x 31.5
cm.
79.321.2