Rory Lewis (born 5 October 1982 in Chester, England) is a British photographer known for his celebrity portrait photography. Lewis's inspirations include the works of the artists Hans Holbein the younger, Caravaggio,

Titian Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italian (Venetian) painter of the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, nea ...

and

Thomas Lawrence Sir Thomas Lawrence (13 April 1769 – 7 January 1830) was an English portrait painter and the fourth president of the Royal Academy. A child prodigy, he was born in Bristol and began drawing in Devizes, where his father was an innkeeper at ...

and the

German Expressionist German Expressionism () consisted of several related creative movements in Germany before the First World War that reached a peak in Berlin during the 1920s. These developments were part of a larger Expressionist movement in north and central ...

movement of the 1920s.

Education

Lewis originally studied Medieval History at King's College London.

Works

In 2012, Lewis held his first exhibition, Keeping Abreast, at the Bluecoat Gallery in Liverpool. Held in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support, the collection featured unseen portraits. David Warner (Actor) Rory Lewis Photographer

David Warner (Actor) Rory Lewis Photographer

In 2013, his portrait of actor David Warner was acquired by the National Portrait Gallery, London. The portrait was Warner's first sitting since Cecil Beaton photographed him in the mid 1960s. In 2014, Lewis photographed and held his first major portrait photography exhibition. Entitled 'Northerners', the project was an entirely new collection of portraits from a cross section of northern English actors, celebrities, sports personalities, and politicians. Held in aid of

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to ...

, the exhibition featured portraits of

Patrick Stewart Sir Patrick Stewart (born 13 July 1940) is an English actor who has a career spanning seven decades in various stage productions, television, film and video games. He has been nominated for Olivier, Tony, Golden Globe, Emmy, and Screen Actors ...

, Ian McKellen,

Ian McShane Ian David McShane (born 29 September 1942) is an English actor, producer and director. He is known for his television performances, particularly as the title role in the BBC series ''Lovejoy'' (1986–1994), Al Swearengen in '' Deadwood'' (20 ...

Emma Rigby Emma Catherine Rigby (born 26 September 1989) is an English actress. After rising to prominence for her role as Hannah Ashworth in ''Hollyoaks'', she later played Gemma Roscoe in the BBC One drama series ''Prisoners' Wives'' and as the Red Que ...

Beth Tweddle Elizabeth Kimberly Tweddle (born 1 April 1985) is a retired British artistic gymnast. Renowned for her uneven bar and floor routines, she was the first female gymnast from Great Britain to win a medal at the European Championships, World Cham ...

Craig Charles Craig Joseph Charles (born 11 July 1964) is an English actor, comedian, television and radio presenter. He is best known for his roles as Dave Lister in the science fiction sitcom ''Red Dwarf'' and Lloyd Mullaney in the soap opera ''Coronation ...

, General Sir

Nick Houghton General John Nicholas Reynolds Houghton, Baron Houghton of Richmond, ( ; born 18 October 1954) is a retired senior British Army officer and former Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) of the British Armed Forces. He was appointed CDS in July 2013, ...

and Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson. In May 2014, Lewis photographed Uruguayan footballer Luis Suarez in a campaign for Pepsi. In 2016 Lewis photographed all the remaining

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

& George Cross recipients for a new portrait project. In 2017 Lewis photographed actor

Rufus Sewell Rufus Frederik Sewell (; born 29 October 1967) is a British film and stage actor. In film, he has appeared in '' Carrington'' (1995), '' ''Hamlet' (1996), ''Dangerous Beauty'' (1998), '' Dark City'' (1998), '' A Knight's Tale ''(2001), '' Th ...

in Los Angeles. The portrait was acquired by the National Portrait Gallery. Throughout 2016–17, Lewis embarked on a portrait project entitled Soldiery

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

Portraits. Photographing over 278 British soldiers, and publishing a book of the collection. The collection was exhibited at Armed Forces Day Liverpool 24 June and then moved to The National Army Museum in London from 31 January – 12 February 2018. As part of the Soldiery project, Lewis held portrait sitting with WO2 Deborah Penny, Britain's first transgender soldier to serve in the front line. In 2018 Lewis embarked on a new project entitled Portraitist, including portraits of former prime minister David Cameron. The portrait sitting was featured by the Guardian Newspaper.

References

External links

Rory Lewis Photographer Website

Rory Lewis 2012 Photography Exhibition Video

BBC News Rory Lewis Exhibition Northerners

Rory Lewis Exhibition Portraitist
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Rory 1982 births Living people Alumni of King's College London British portrait photographers Photographers from Cheshire People from Chester