Two Camels

John Frederick Lewis

ca. 1843 · Watercolor and gouache (bodycolor) over black chalk on brownish paper · Drawings and Prints

Lewis sketched these camels draped in colorful, decorative trappings during a visit to the Sinai. The evocative study typifies the artist’s carefully detailed work in Egypt between 1841 and 1851, years during which he produced hundreds of drawings. Once back in England, Lewis used the studies to develop evocations of life in Egypt, Syria and Turkey in watercolor and oil, works that profoundly influenced British conceptions of that region. At least two later desert subjects rely on the present sheet.

Artist

John Frederick Lewis

Date

ca. 1843

Medium

Watercolor and gouache (bodycolor) over black chalk on brownish paper

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Anonymous Gift, 1961