Artist

John Frederick Lewis

John Frederick Lewis prints bring the dazzling detail of Cairo's courtyards, bazaars and interiors into your home. Lewis was an English painter who lived for ten years in a traditional house in Cairo, and his loving, precise pictures of Islamic architecture, costumes and daily life...Read more

John Frederick Lewis prints bring the dazzling detail of Cairo's courtyards, bazaars and interiors into your home. Lewis was an English painter who lived for ten years in a traditional house in Cairo, and his loving, precise pictures of Islamic architecture, costumes and daily life set new standards for Orientalist painting. Our collection of fine art prints includes his Egyptian and Spanish scenes, portraits, animal studies and lithographs.

About John Frederick Lewis

John Frederick Lewis was born in London on 14 July 1804, the son of the engraver and landscape painter Frederick Christian Lewis. He grew up as a neighbour and friend of Edwin Landseer, and the two trained together in the studio of Sir Thomas Lawrence. Like Landseer, he began as an animal painter, publishing prints of big cats in 1826.

In 1827 he toured Europe and began painting in watercolour, and from 1832 to 1834 he travelled in Spain and Morocco. His drawings were published as lithographs, including Sketches and Drawings of the Alhambra (1835), and for a while he was known as "Spanish Lewis". He then travelled on to the East, and from 1841 to 1851 lived in grand style in Cairo, where his friend William Makepeace Thackeray visited him and described his "dreamy, hazy, lazy" life.

In 1847 he married Marian Harper in Alexandria. His watercolour The Hareem was a sensation in London in 1850, praised by John Ruskin. After returning to England in 1851 he painted highly detailed Egyptian scenes in both watercolour and oil, became President of the Society of Painters in Water Colours in 1855 and a Royal Academician in 1865. He lived at Walton-on-Thames from 1854 until his death there on 15 August 1876.

Style and Subjects

Lewis painted with extraordinary detail and brilliant colour. Sunlight falls through carved wooden screens in patterns of light and shade, across rich costumes, tiles, fabrics and furniture, and every texture is lovingly recorded.

His scenes of Cairo show both everyday street life and calm upper-class interiors. Unlike many Orientalists, he never painted a nude, and his harem scenes have an almost domestic quietness. His wife modelled for several of them.

Famous Works

Buck-Shooting in Windsor Great Park (1825), Tate, London. An early sporting picture from his years as an animal painter.
A Street Scene in Granada on the Day of the Bullfight. Spanish crowds dressed for the festival, from his Spanish years.
The Temple of Edfu, The Door of the Pylon (1850). The great gateway of the Egyptian temple.
An Oriental Interior (A Startling Account, Constantinople) (1863), Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Women listening to a story in a sunlit room.
In the Bey's Garden (1865), Harris Museum, Preston. A woman picking flowers in a lush Cairo garden.
The Door of a Café in Cairo (1865), Royal Academy of Arts, London. Men at ease outside a Cairo café.
The Siesta (1876), Tate, London. A woman resting in a cool room, one of his last paintings.

Decorating with Lewis Prints

Lewis's Cairo interiors and bazaar scenes bring warmth, light and pattern to living rooms, hallways and studies. They suit rooms with rich textiles, carved wood, brass and plants, and look splendid in gilt frames.

His Spanish scenes and portraits, such as Iskander Bey and his Servant, suit a library or study, and his animal studies make a lively group for a hallway.

FAQ

Who was John Frederick Lewis?

John Frederick Lewis was an English Orientalist painter who lived from 1804 to 1876. He is known for detailed scenes of Middle Eastern and Spanish life.

Did John Frederick Lewis live in Egypt?

Yes. He lived in a traditional upper-class house in Cairo from 1841 to 1851, and often used it as the setting for his paintings.

Why was he called "Spanish Lewis"?

After his travels in Spain in 1832–1834 and his published sketches of Spanish life and the Alhambra, he was known as "Spanish Lewis" to distinguish him from his brother, "Indian Lewis".

What is The Hareem?

The Hareem is a large watercolour, the only major work he certainly completed in Cairo. It was a huge success in London in 1850 and was praised by John Ruskin.