Elizabeth Morton Woodson Lewis (Mrs. Henry Lewis)
- Date
- 1838–39
- Material
- Oil on canvas
- made in
- Glasgow, Missouri, United States, North and Central America
- Classification
- Paintings
- Collection
- American Art
- Current Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- 30 1/4 x 22 7/8 in. (76.8 x 58.1 cm)
framed: 34 x 26 3/4 x 3 1/4 in. (86.4 x 67.9 x 8.3 cm) - Credit Line
- Gift of Mrs. Millard Watts Smith in memory of Laura May Hawes and Millard Watts Smith
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 140:1976
Provenance
1839 -
Judge Henry Lewis (1782-1873) and Elizabeth Morton Woodson Lewis (1790-1857), near Glasgow, MO, commissioned from the artist [1]
by 1917 -
John Fletcher Lewis (1829-1904) and Emma Lou Aker Lewis (1857-1941), near Glasgow, MO; Fayette, MO, by inheritance; Ann Elizabeth Lewis Covington (born c.1904), St. Louis, MO, by inheritance [2]
by 1949 -
Laura May Watts Smith Hawes (Mrs. Richard Hawes), St. Louis, MO, by purchase; Millard Watts Smith, La Jolla, CA, by inheritance; Jean Smith (Mrs. Millard Watts Smith), La Jolla, CA; Palm Springs, FL, by inheritance [3]
1976 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by Mrs. Millard Watts Smith [4]
Notes:
The main source for this provenance is Bloch's catalogue raisonné, the 1986 edition, cat. no. 62 [Bloch, E. Maurice. "The Paintings of George Caleb Bingham: A Catalogue Raisonné." Columbia, MO, University of Missouri Press, 1986]. Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted. The painting is one of two pendant portraits that share the same provenance. Its companion is "Judge Henry Lewis" 139:1976.
[1] According to a letter from Jason P. Smith, son of Mr. and Mrs. Millard Watts Smith, to Mary-Edgar Patton dated October 29, 1976, Bingham may have painted the portraits for the Lewises in exchange for lodging [SLAM document files].
[2] John Fletcher Lewis inherited the paintings from his father Henry Lewis. Emma Lou Aker Lewis, John Fletcher Lewis's third wife, inherited the works from him. She still owned the works in 1917 [Rusk, Fern. George Caleb Bingham: The Missouri Artist." Jefferson City, MO: The Hugh Stevens Co., 1917, p. 119]. She left them to her daughter, Ann Elizabeth Covington.
[3] According to Bloch (1986), Mrs. Richard (Laura May Watts Smith) Hawes purchased the paintings. It is unclear whether or not she bought them from Covington. Hawes was descended from Martha Woodson Lewis, a daughter of Henry and Elizabeth Lewis and sister of John Fletcher Lewis. She owned the portraits by 1949, when she lent them to the City Art Museum [SLAM document files]. E. Maurice Bloch listed Mrs. Richard Hawes as the owner of the works in 1956 [Bloch, E. Maurice. "Bingham: the Artist and his Times." New York University, 1956, p. 38-39]. Millard Watts Smith, her son, inherited the portraits from her and he later left them to his wife, Mrs. Millard Watts (Jean) Smith.
[4] Letter from Jack Cowart to Mrs. Millard Watts (Jean) Smith dated December 30, 1976, thanking her for her gift [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Acquisitions Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, December 16, 1976.
Judge Henry Lewis (1782-1873) and Elizabeth Morton Woodson Lewis (1790-1857), near Glasgow, MO, commissioned from the artist [1]
by 1917 -
John Fletcher Lewis (1829-1904) and Emma Lou Aker Lewis (1857-1941), near Glasgow, MO; Fayette, MO, by inheritance; Ann Elizabeth Lewis Covington (born c.1904), St. Louis, MO, by inheritance [2]
by 1949 -
Laura May Watts Smith Hawes (Mrs. Richard Hawes), St. Louis, MO, by purchase; Millard Watts Smith, La Jolla, CA, by inheritance; Jean Smith (Mrs. Millard Watts Smith), La Jolla, CA; Palm Springs, FL, by inheritance [3]
1976 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by Mrs. Millard Watts Smith [4]
Notes:
The main source for this provenance is Bloch's catalogue raisonné, the 1986 edition, cat. no. 62 [Bloch, E. Maurice. "The Paintings of George Caleb Bingham: A Catalogue Raisonné." Columbia, MO, University of Missouri Press, 1986]. Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted. The painting is one of two pendant portraits that share the same provenance. Its companion is "Judge Henry Lewis" 139:1976.
[1] According to a letter from Jason P. Smith, son of Mr. and Mrs. Millard Watts Smith, to Mary-Edgar Patton dated October 29, 1976, Bingham may have painted the portraits for the Lewises in exchange for lodging [SLAM document files].
[2] John Fletcher Lewis inherited the paintings from his father Henry Lewis. Emma Lou Aker Lewis, John Fletcher Lewis's third wife, inherited the works from him. She still owned the works in 1917 [Rusk, Fern. George Caleb Bingham: The Missouri Artist." Jefferson City, MO: The Hugh Stevens Co., 1917, p. 119]. She left them to her daughter, Ann Elizabeth Covington.
[3] According to Bloch (1986), Mrs. Richard (Laura May Watts Smith) Hawes purchased the paintings. It is unclear whether or not she bought them from Covington. Hawes was descended from Martha Woodson Lewis, a daughter of Henry and Elizabeth Lewis and sister of John Fletcher Lewis. She owned the portraits by 1949, when she lent them to the City Art Museum [SLAM document files]. E. Maurice Bloch listed Mrs. Richard Hawes as the owner of the works in 1956 [Bloch, E. Maurice. "Bingham: the Artist and his Times." New York University, 1956, p. 38-39]. Millard Watts Smith, her son, inherited the portraits from her and he later left them to his wife, Mrs. Millard Watts (Jean) Smith.
[4] Letter from Jack Cowart to Mrs. Millard Watts (Jean) Smith dated December 30, 1976, thanking her for her gift [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Acquisitions Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, December 16, 1976.
We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.