Lewis, E. K. (McKechnie Section 2)

Known by one extant silhouette of a man, painted in c. 1792-94, which is not signed on the reverse by the artist. It was, however, reframed by the late Mrs A. J. Christie, who wrote on the back of the new frame the words, `By E. K. Lewis'. The only miniaturist mentioned by Long who could possibly be identified with this profilist was a Mrs Lewis, who exhibited a miniature, a landscape in crayon and a fruit piece at the Society of Artists in 1783. No Lewis whose initials were E. K. is listed by Foskett or Graves.

I5

Lewis painted in water-colour on card, without the addition of any gum arabic, but with transparency achieved by thinned pigment. On the illustrated example (the sitter was a man) the hair is painted in fine strokes, but the clothing (including the shirt-frill) is not presented in much detail, although buttons are carefully indicated. The bust-line termination, with a concavity in a distinctly shown arm truncation, might be a guide to the identification of other work by this artist. The oval solid brass frame, with a reeded edge interspersed with scrolls, matches the frames of two other silhouettes (both clearly dating from the nineteenth century) which were also in the possession of the same collector.

No trade label is known; one assumes that the surviving profile by Lewis was originally so inscribed.

Ill. 876