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Lot Essay
Amy Lewis was born in New Cambridge, Connecticut in May 1784, a daughter of Abel and Ruth Lewis, the owner of the Abel Lewis Inn (see lot 115). Her composition was based on a print and she likely painted this shortly after the print was published in 1804, when she was a young lady pursuing her education. What distinguishes this watercolor from the needleworks of the same subject, is the use of color in establishing a firm patriotic message. The figures on the left are depicted in red, white and blue, while the central gentleman is all clad in those colors.
The print that inspired Amy Lewis was engraved by Samuel Seymour (working in Philadelphia 1797-1822) and published in Philadelphia in 1804 by J. Savage. For a similar image wrought in needlework, see Deborah Harding, Stars and Stripes, Patriotic Motifs in American Folk Art (New York, 2002), p. 176. A further related example of this image in needlework is depicted in Betty Ring, "Memorial Embroideries by American Schoolgirls," The Magazine Antiques (October 1971). In a caption regarding the work Mrs. Ring states, "The design is copied from Samuel Seymour's engraving In Memory of General Washington and His Lady, ...Facts concerning the original painting are obscure. An 1819 lithograph is inscribed "from an original painting by Trumbull, 1804 in the possession of the Washington family."
For a related oil painting of this subject see Christie's, New York 18-19 January 2002, lot 13.
Amy Lewis married Theodore Barnard (b. 1779) on February 6, 1823 and moved to Troy, New York in that same year. They had a daughter Ellen (artist of lot 117 in this sale) on October 3, 1823. According to family tradition, Theodore decided to "go out West" and Amy chose instead to return to Bristol with her young daughter. Another mourning picture by Amy Lewis for her sister Ruth Lewis remains in the Miles Lewis House, now the American Clock and Watch Museum, Bristol, Connecticut.
The print that inspired Amy Lewis was engraved by Samuel Seymour (working in Philadelphia 1797-1822) and published in Philadelphia in 1804 by J. Savage. For a similar image wrought in needlework, see Deborah Harding, Stars and Stripes, Patriotic Motifs in American Folk Art (New York, 2002), p. 176. A further related example of this image in needlework is depicted in Betty Ring, "Memorial Embroideries by American Schoolgirls," The Magazine Antiques (October 1971). In a caption regarding the work Mrs. Ring states, "The design is copied from Samuel Seymour's engraving In Memory of General Washington and His Lady, ...Facts concerning the original painting are obscure. An 1819 lithograph is inscribed "from an original painting by Trumbull, 1804 in the possession of the Washington family."
For a related oil painting of this subject see Christie's, New York 18-19 January 2002, lot 13.
Amy Lewis married Theodore Barnard (b. 1779) on February 6, 1823 and moved to Troy, New York in that same year. They had a daughter Ellen (artist of lot 117 in this sale) on October 3, 1823. According to family tradition, Theodore decided to "go out West" and Amy chose instead to return to Bristol with her young daughter. Another mourning picture by Amy Lewis for her sister Ruth Lewis remains in the Miles Lewis House, now the American Clock and Watch Museum, Bristol, Connecticut.