1838

Beadle

British, 1808 - 1880

Lewis was the only professionally trained printmaker in the original Etching Club. Revealing a steady, self-assured style, this etching depicts an unkempt beadle, a minor church official whose duties included ushering and preserving order. Although it was not stipulated in the club's rules that etchings must be of original subject matter, Lewis's print is unusual in that it reproduces a work created by his brother, John Frederick Lewis, who was not himself a member of the club.