Lewis, Wyndham

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 of Great Britain. In 1893 his parents separated, and he moved with his mother to London. At the age of 16, 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.

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