Earl Bradley Lewis

Earl Bradley Lewis was born on December 16, 1956 in Philadelphia. By the third grade he displayed artistic promise. Inspired by two uncles who were artists, Lewis decided he wanted to follow in their footsteps. After finishing the sixth grade, he attended the Saturday morning Temple University School Art League run by his uncle. Under the tutelage of Clarence Wood, a noted painter in Philadelphia, Lewis began his formal art training. He remained in the program until his enrollment in the Temple University Tyler School of Art in 1975.

During his four years at Temple, Lewis majored in Graphic Design and Illustration along with Art Education. There he discovered his medium of preference, watercolor.

Lewis has become one of the great contemporary American watercolorists, best known for his honest and sensitive portraits of African-Americans. As E.B. Lewis, he is also the much-honored illustrator of over 65 children’s books.