James and Debra Desocio wrote to share a photo of their original Hubert Lewis pastel landscape. James described it as such:

It is a very pleasant evening landscape in a beautiful frame.  The painting measures approximately 27 1/2 inches tall, and 13 1/2 inches wide.  It is a lovely pastel. The Hubert Lewis pastel belonged to my wife’s late cousin who passed away in August of 2012 at the age of 94.  We inherited the piece.   This particular piece we hold very dear to our hearts and is displayed on a prominent wall in our living room.

James and Debra Desocio pastel

James and Debra Desocio pastel signature

I wrote back to the Desocio’s:

The frame is beautiful. Hubert created many pastels and oils with simple scenes that were so beautiful in their simplicity. Some of his work is considered Hudson River School-like, though he was not considered a Hudson River School artist. We had two similar pastels in our home growing up, that now belong to my brother John.

The signature you gave me is definitely Hubert Lewis’s although if you look at one then the other, you’ll see yours looks “peppier”. All the important parts are there, but there is more flair. There are other known works of Hubert’s with signatures like your pastel has.

Hubert listed his type of work as a framing company in one census, and I have ledgers showing he was paid by the same company that published his prints from the 1930’s-late 1940’s, Keystone Picture Frame Co. So he may have made that frame. It seems to me the original frames are unique. I can’t verify that, not having seen all his work, but they certainly each have their own personality.