Matthew Lewis (March 8, 1930 – October 2, 2024) was an American photojournalist who won a Pulitzer Prize for his 1975 work with The Washington Post.^[1]

Lewis was born in McDonald, Pennsylvania, on March 8, 1930.^[2][3][4] He later moved to Washington, D.C. in 1947. He attended college at Howard University in 1947 for a year and then continued at the University of Pittsburgh the next year before he dropped out. From 1949 to 1952, Lewis served as a hospital corpsman for the United States Navy.^[3] Lewis received his first job at Morgan State University where he worked in the audio visual department. Lewis freelanced for the Baltimore Afro-American before getting a job with The Washington Post in 1965 as a staff photographer. He was eventually promoted to assistant managing editor of photography^[5][6] where he covered Civil Rights marches, Super Bowls, and John F. Kennedy's funeral. He was the first African-American photographer to work for The Washington Post.^[7]

Lewis retired in 1990,^[5] and moved with his wife Jeannine to Thomasville, North Carolina. He began working at the Thomasville Times in 1990 to keep himself occupied.^[5]

Lewis died on October 2, 2024, at the age of 94.^[8]

In 1975, Lewis was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography "for his photographs in color and black and white." These photos portrayed various aspects of "the Washington lifestyle."^[9] Lewis won first place in the White House News Photographers Association competitions in 1968 and 1971^[10] In 2010, the International Civil Rights Center & Museum honored Lewis during a special tribute and public reception.^[11]

• Coar, Valencia Hollins. A Century of black photographers, 1840-1960 [exhibition catalog]. Providence, RI: Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, 1983.

• "Documenting the Riots", The Washington Post, April 3, 2008
• "Matthew Lewis", Washington Photo Store
• 2011 PBS Interview with Matthew Lewis