Cecilia Beaux, John Frederick Lewis and Son, Alfred Baker Lewis

John Frederick Lewis was a prominent Philadelphia attorney; he and his wife, Anne H. Rush Baker Lewis, supported a broad range of cultural and educational causes across the city. Beaux’s portrait conveys the Lewises’  focus on their children, whom they prepare to inherit the responsibilities associated with their position in society. The older son, Alfred, is depicted with his father in the midst of what seems to be a private lecture on art. Alfred endures the lesson begrudgingly, tapping his fingers on the table out of boredom.