Carol Lew studied painting at the Philadelphia College of Art.  For the past twenty years, her artwork has been inspired by a love of animals, country life, and history. She paints her subjects with simplicity, directness, and whimsy, and uses oil paints that are traditional to classic historical portraiture.

Lew says of her portraits “There’s something about my artwork that’s deeper to me than just putting a dress on a pooch. Classic historical human portraiture depicts the subject as proud, dignified, and elegant. I like to create my Old World Portraits with that same air of importance because I believe animals deserve the same esteem as human beings. Yeah, we have an edge over them, but they are worthy of our respect…. and even an honored spot over the mantle.”

Old World Pet Portraits have been featured on a local PBS show, in numerous galleries, and several museums including a 2020 exhibit at the Conciergerie in Paris. Lew’s art has been featured in local and national publications. Her images have been licensed for prints, fabrics, and other items with worldwide distribution. Lew’s primary work is painting commissioned portraits of people’s pets and selling reproductions in her on line shop, www.oldworldpetportraits.com

Lew lives and works in an early 19th-century farmhouse in the rural Berkshire Mountains of western Massachusetts, along with her husband, dogs, cat, and a flock of chickens. She spends time each week volunteering for an organization dedicated to spaying and neutering feral cats.