Born into a prominent Philadelphia family, landscape painter Edmund Darch Lewis became one of the most successful artists of his day. At 15 he began a five-year study with Hudson River School artist Paul Weber, and his talent as an oil painter quickly became evident. He first exhibited at the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts in 1859. Throughout his career, he traveled through Pennsylvania, New York, and New England, capturing the region’s picturesque landscapes in the Luminist style. His deft mastery of illusionistic techniques can best be seen in the reflections of trees and mountains he painted in placid water. Later in his career, Lewis switched to watercolor, in which he painted marine landscapes of New Jersey’s resort towns. In addition to his work as an artist, Lewis was also a prominent collector.