Wyndham Lewis English artist, writer and art theorist Date of Birth: 18.11.1882 Country: Great Britain

Biography of Wyndham Lewis

Wyndham Lewis was an English artist, writer, and art theorist. He was born at sea, aboard his father's yacht, off the coast of Nova Scotia. From 1899 to 1901, he studied painting in London. From 1902 to 1909, he embarked on a extensive journey across Europe, with a prolonged stay in Paris. In 1911, he participated in the London exhibition of the art group "Camden Town", of which he was one of the founders. In 1913, he joined the "London Group".

Shortly after, Wyndham Lewis developed his own artistic theory called "Vorticism", which was closely aligned with Italian Futurism and French Cubism. He propagated this theory through his publication, "Blast", a magazine that he himself created. In 1914, Wyndham Lewis published the "Vorticist Manifesto" as a response to the Italian "Futurist Manifesto". The manifesto stated that only the strongest explosions of feelings could be a source of artistic creation. The Vorticists found their spiritual model in the American poet Ezra Pound. In addition to his Vorticist works, Wyndham Lewis also created naturalistic and surrealist paintings, and worked as an illustrator for "The Enemy" magazine.

In Ernest Hemingway's novel "The Sun Also Rises", in the chapter titled "Ezra Pound and his "Bel Esprit", Hemingway speaks very harshly and unfavorably about Wyndham Lewis, referring to him as "the vilest sort of creature I had ever seen".