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Matthew 'Monk' Lewis

2 of 3 portraits of Matthew 'Monk' Lewis

Matthew 'Monk' Lewis, by Henry William Pickersgill, engraved 1809 -NPG 421 - © National Portrait Gallery, London

© National Portrait Gallery, London

Regency Portraits Catalogue

Matthew 'Monk' Lewis

by Henry William Pickersgill
engraved 1809
29 1/4 in. x 24 1/4 in. (743 mm x 616 mm)
NPG 421

This portraitback to top

One of Pickersgill's early portraits, rather crudely painted in about 1808 long after Lewis's meteoric rise to fame at the publication of The Monk in 1795. A variant formerly at Holland House shows him as 'Hamlet' with a bust of Shakespeare on a table nearby (Holland House Catalogue, 369).

Physical descriptionback to top

Half-length to left in red upholstered armchair, green double-breasted coat with brass buttons, yellow waistcoat, white neckcloth and shirt-frill, coral ring on left fourth finger; sparse black hair, hazel eyes, fresh complexion, swarthy upper lip.

Provenanceback to top

Purchased from George Ellis 1876.

Reproductionsback to top

Stipple by H. Meyer published Matthews & Leigh 1809.


This extended catalogue entry is from the out-of-print National Portrait Gallery collection catalogue: Richard Walker, Regency Portraits, National Portrait Gallery, 1985, and is as published then. For the most up-to-date details on individual Collection works, we recommend reading the information provided in the Search the Collection results on this website in parallel with this text.

View all known portraits for Matthew Gregory ('Monk') Lewis

View all known portraits for Henry William Pickersgill