Born in New York City, Norman Lewis was an Abstract Expressionist painter and art teacher. He studied art at Columbia University and became was a junior high school art teacher in New York, a supervisor of the art center at A & T Col & Bennett College, and also taught art in many other places including the Art Students League.

An African-American artist, he explored the esthetic qualities of the color black. He also painted in bright colors. His associates in New York were Lionel Feininger, Mark Tobey and Morris Graves. Although he had much respect from these contemporaries, his reputation did not remain strong.

Source:
Peter Hastings Falk, Editor, Who Was Who in American Art...