Wyndam Lewis

Wyndam Lewis was talented enough to write fiction, non-fiction, criticism, biography, and autobiography. He was a friend and contemporary of Ezra Pound; and in 1939, he published "The Hitler Cult" as a warning to the world, which of course no one heeded.

He also painted -- as an official war artist for the First World War, and professionally in both more traditional and more modern styles. This recent book cover shows off my favourite piece of Lewis's art: his self portrait as a Tyro. I saw the original in the London Portrait Gallery when I was all of 18. I immediately loved it, bought a postcard of it, and I love to ponder on his sly grin and sideways glance. The original is painted in bold yellow-orange and brown tones and seems decades ahead of itself.