Portrait of Paul Lewis

Dateundated

Mediumacrylic

Supportcanvas board

Dimensions68.5 × 59 × 4 cm

Credit LineGift of the Society of Saint Vincent De Paul, London, Ontario, 2024

Object number2024.002.001

Label TextPaul Lewis was born in Philadelphia in 1889 and came to London in 1914. Finding work in White’s Barbershop, he followed in the footsteps of others such as Shadrack Martin. After White's Barbershop closed in 1948, Lewis worked a variety of odd jobs, including as a janitor at Woolworth's and Silverwood's Dairy. Lewis soon became active in London’s Black community. He served as a trustee at the Beth Emmanuel Church and also as its choir director, soloist, and clarinet player. Lewis also helped organize the Canadian League for the Advancement of Colored Peoples, founded in London in 1925. This national organization subsequently merged with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NCAAP). In 1926, Lewis moved the CLACP motion opposing the Canadian National Railways ban of Black waiters in its railway cars. The first program of the CLACP in 1927 names Lewis as the 1st Vice President of the organization. Lewis played a leadership role in the organization for many years. In 1942, for example, he was re-elected as president. Much of the organization’s work revolved around fundraising for local Black families in need as well as the Beth Emmanuel Church. In later life, Paul Lewis became a much-sought-after subject for photographers and painters, as the painting presented now illustrates. Some of this work went on display at national exhibitions. Lewis also became a popular figure in downtown London. Indeed, in 1970 London city council honoured him with a citation for his “almost daily acts of cheerful goodwill.” Paul Lewis died in 1974.

NamePainting