J. Lewis Marks

J. Lewis Marks was a printmaker whose documented activity spanned the years 1814 to 1849. Active during the transitional period of the early nineteenth century, Marks specialized in producing prints that captured social concerns and contemporary satire.

Six of the artist's prints are currently represented in major American museum collections. The subjects documented in these works suggest that Marks engaged heavily in commentary on economic anxiety, fashion, and political life. Notable represented works include the prints The Income Tax and The Ceremony of Investiture of My Ld Smth with the Order of Cabbage-hood. Other cataloged examples illustrating contemporary social critique are **The Dandy Dressing; The Dandy Dressed, Bum Bailiff Out-Dones, and Making the Most of £10,000 per Ann. by Saving Travelling Expences.

Marks’s artistic legacy is preserved in significant institutional holdings, including the permanent collections of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Because of their age, many historical works by Marks are now in the public domain, allowing institutions to provide high-quality prints and downloadable artwork for scholars and the public.