Delaware artist Jack Lewis was a master of his craft and a lot of fun

Addressing a standing-room-only crowd at Rehoboth Art League, artist Rebecca Raubacher said fellow artist Jack Lewis loved to paint the working man. His paintings gave a level of importance and sensitivity to people who might not otherwise have been seen, she said.

“Every piece he did had a piece of his heart in it,” said Raubacher.

RAL hosted a gallery talk Feb. 4, as part of a two-month-long exhibition of Jack Lewis paintings from the personal collection of Nancy and Russell Suniewick. Speakers included Raubacher, who met Lewis in the late 1970s and served as his representative toward the end of his career, and Dr. Edward Landa, a soil scientist who has been examining Lewis’ early work depicting the mosquito ditch diggers of the 1930s. 

Raubacher spoke to Lewis’ style. He was a master of using complementary colors and there was no such thing as a set portrait color, she said.

“He used a lot of colors. He was not afraid, frankly, of anything,” said Raubacher. 

Lewis was a prolific artist. Raubacher said her husband Chris and Lewis would go fishing all day, but Lewis just painted and drew the whole time.

Lewis was also a bit of a scalawag and an interesting-looking character, said Raubacher of the artist who stood over 6 feet tall, had a white head of hair, a white goatee and a wool cap. He lived life to the fullest, but he would also let someone know if he didn’t care for them, she said.

“Jack was a lot of fun,” said Raubacher. “He truly was a master of what he did.”

Landa opened the 90-minute lecture with the story behind Lewis finding his way to coastal Delaware as a member of the Civilian Conservation Corps. Henlopen Acres founder Wilbur Corkran and his wife Louise were instrumental in bringing Lewis to the area, said Landa.

Lewis was tasked with documenting the life and work of Delaware’s CCC members who were digging mosquito ditches throughout the state’s marshes, said Landa. Wilbur was the state’s first mosquito control director and, by the mid-1930s, Lewis had been assigned to the area, he said.

In addition to painting CCC members, Lewis would do displays for projects to be presented at public events, like state fairs, said Landa. Lewis made huge heads for parades hosted by the CCC and he also made marionettes, he said.

Lewis’ artwork was more than just painting, said Landa.

RAL’s Jack Lewis exhibition – Everyday Life, Everyday People; The Work of Jack Lewis – runs through Saturday, March 4. For more information on the Rehoboth Art League, 12 Dodds Lane in Henlopen Acres, go to rehobothartleague.org or call 302-227-8408. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and noon to 4 p.m., Sunday.