The Moray Minstrels (Design for Invitation card of Arthur James Lewis)

Arthur James Lewis|Frederick Walker

1865 · Pen and brown ink, graphite, touches of white gouache (bodycolor) · Drawings and Prints

This design for a printed invitation was created for the well-to-do silk merchant Arthur James Lewis who, before his 1867 marriage, regularly welcomed male friends to Moray Lodge, his home on Campden Hill, overlooking London's Holland Park. Once a month, between January and March, singers would gather on Saturday evenings at 8:30 pm to perform modern and ancient works; with oyster suppers served at eleven. Lewis was himself an amateur artist who joined the Junior Etching Club and welcomed London artists, such as J. M. Whistler, to his home. The invitation captures the jolly informality of Lewis's entertaining (see 58.503.2 for the related print).

Artist

Arthur James Lewis|Frederick Walker

Date

1865

Medium

Pen and brown ink, graphite, touches of white gouache (bodycolor)

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1958