Charles Cary Rumsey

George Washington Lewis was the steward of the male-only Porcellian Club at Harvard University for more than 45 years. A portrait of the distinguished African American gentleman painted by Joseph DeCamp around 1919 hangs in the clubhouse. Buffalo-born Charles Cary Rumsey was a member of the Porcellian Club and graduated from Harvard in 1902. Some scholars believe he may have modeled Mr. Lewis at that time, having the sculpture cast in bronze later. Robert Evren wrote: “The bust reveals the pleasingly rough modeling then fashionable in France and America and captures much of the charm and dignity of the old man, focusing on his proud, upward turned face and giving the eyes and features a mixture of seriousness and amusement.”  It remains a mystery why Rumsey referred to him as R. B. Lewis.