Martin LewisLittle Penthouse1931
1931
About the Item
- Creator:Martin Lewis (1881-1962, American, Australian)
- Creation Year:1931
- Dimensions:Height: 9.88 in (25.1 cm)Width: 6.82 in (17.33 cm)Depth: 0.1 in (2.54 mm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU51531832753
Martin Lewis
Martin Lewis was born in Castlemaine, Victoria, Australia, on June 7th, 1881. He was the second of eight children and had a passion for drawing.
At the age of 15, Lewis left home and traveled in New South Wales, Australia, and in New Zealand, working as a pothole digger and a merchant seaman. He returned to Sydney and settled into a Bohemian community outside Sydney. Two of his drawings were published in the radical Sydney newspaper, The Bulletin. He studied with Julian Ashton at the Art Society's School in Sydney. Ashton was an English-born Australian artist and teacher known for his support of the Heidelberg School and for his influential art school in Sydney.
In 1900, Lewis left Australia for the United States. His first job was in San Francisco, painting stage decorations for William McKinley's presidential campaign of 1900. By 1909, Lewis was living in New York, where he found work in commercial illustration. His earliest known etching is dated 1915. However, the level of skill in this piece suggests he had been working in the medium for some time previously. It was during this period that he helped Edward Hopper learn the basics of etching.
In 1920, after the breakup of a romance, Lewis traveled to Japan, where for two years he drew and painted and studied Japanese art. The influence of Japanese prints is very evident in Lewis's prints after that period. In 1925, he returned to etching and produced most of his well-known works between 1925 and 1935. Lewis's first solo exhibition in 1929 was successful enough for him to give up commercial work and concentrate entirely on printmaking.
Lewis is most famous for his black and white prints, mostly of night scenes of non-tourist, real-life street scenes of New York City. During the Depression, however, he was forced to leave the city for four years between 1932 and 1936 and move to Newtown, Connecticut. His work from this period includes a number of rural, night-time, and winter landscape scenes in this area.
Lewis returned to Manhattan in 1936 and continued to etch and paint. He taught printmaking at the Art Students League of New York from 1944 until his retirement in 1952. Now he is considered one of the most important American printmakers of the twentieth century.
Find original Martin Lewis prints and other art on 1stDibs.
(Biography provided by Allinson Gallery, Inc.)
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: New York, NY
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 7 days of delivery.
- The Bridge PartyBy Peggy BaconLocated in New York, NYPeggy Bacon drypoint The Bridge Party, signed, dated (Nov. 1918) and titled (Bridge) in pencil by the artist. Flint 3. In generally ok but rough condition as befits an early working ...Category
1910s American Realist Figurative Prints
MaterialsDrypoint
- At the ShowBy Jerome MyersLocated in New York, NYJerome Myers (1867-1940), At the Show, etching and drypoint, c. 1920, signed in pencil lower right. In good condition, with margins (paper losses upper corners), faint ink marks and ...Category
1920s American Realist Figurative Prints
MaterialsDrypoint, Etching
- Merry-Go-RoundBy Reginald MarshLocated in New York, NYReginald Marsh (1898-1954), Merry-Go-Round, etching and engraving, 1938, signed in pencil lower right and inscribed Forty Proofs lower left, [also signed in the plate lower left and inscribed SC]. Reference: Sasowsky 179, fourth state (of 4). In good condition, with margins (a paper loss upper right corner well outside of the platemark, stains from prior hinging, notations in pencil lower margin edge). 10 x 8, the sheet 11 1/2 x 9 1/8 inches. A very good impression, printed in black on a wove paper with a partial FRANCE watermark. Sasowsky notes that Marsh printed 15 impressions of this state (and only one or two of the prior states), and considered only 10 of the 15 valuable. His notation “Forty Proofs” is therefore surely an expression of a hoped-for edition size, as opposed to an actual edition size. We have found this quite often the case with Marsh prints – he indicates an edition size but the actual number of impressions printed is considerably smaller. There is an eerie, almost ominous note in this, as in several of Marsh’s merry-go-round prints...Category
1930s American Realist Figurative Prints
MaterialsEngraving, Etching
- Descending from the Cross, by TorchlightBy Rembrandt van RijnLocated in New York, NYRembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn 1606 Leiden – Amsterdam 1669 The Descent from the Cross by Torchlight 1654 etching and drypoint; sheet 213 x 163 mm (8 3/8 x 6 7/16 inches) Bart...Category
17th Century Old Masters Figurative Prints
MaterialsDrypoint, Etching
- Minne Playing with a Cat (Minne Jouant avec un Chat)By Jacques VillonLocated in New York, NYJacques Villon (1875-1963) etching, aquatint, and drypoint, Minne Playing with a Cat (Minne Jouant avec un Chat),1907, signed in pencil and numbered (12/30)(Ginestet and Pouillon 192...Category
Early 1900s Impressionist Figurative Prints
MaterialsDrypoint, Etching, Aquatint
- Exterminating AngelBy James EnsorLocated in New York, NYJames Ensor (1860-1949), Exterminating Angel (L'Ange Exterminateur), etching with drypoint, 1889, signed and dated in pencil lower right, also titled and countersigned verso. Referen...Category
1880s Symbolist Figurative Prints
MaterialsDrypoint, Etching
- Keresan DancersBy Gene KlossLocated in Fairlawn, OHKeresan Dancers Etching & drypoint, 1962 Signed lower right (see photo) Inscribed lower left: "Artist's Proof Keresan Dancers" Depicts Keresan speaking peoples at Sam Felipe Pue...Category
1960s American Realist Figurative Prints
MaterialsDrypoint
- Winter Tracery (Milford Connecticut)Located in San Francisco, CAThis artwork titled 'Winter Tracery (Milford Connecticut)" is an original drypoint etching by noted American artist Philip Kappel, 1901-1981. It is hand signed and titled in pencil by the artist. The plate mark (Image) size is 9 x 12 inches, framed size is 17.25 x 21.25 inches. Custom framed in a wooden light grey frame, with light grey matting and black color fillet. It is in excellent condition. About the artist: Philip Kappel — painter, illustrator, printer, writer, and lecturer — was born on February 10, 1901 in Hartford, CT and died in 1981. Kappel is best remembered for his landscapes, portraits, figures, marine, lithography, and etching. He held a teaching position with H. B. Snell, Boothbay, ME Studios, 1923 and 1924. His addresses in 1929 were 500 Fifth Avenue in New York City and, for the summer, care of Philip Little, 10 Chestnut Street, Salem, MA; and in 1935, Sarasota, FL. Kappel was a pupil of the Pratt Institute Art School in Brooklyn, NY and Philip Little (1857-1942) and held memberships with the North Shore Artists Association in Gloucester, MA; the Marblehead...Category
Mid-20th Century American Realist Figurative Prints
MaterialsDrypoint, Etching
- Bowling Green, New YorkBy Louis Conrad RosenbergLocated in Myrtle Beach, SCLouis Conrad Rosenberg, 'Bowling Green, New York', etching, 1940. Signed in pencil. A superb, richly-inked impression, with all the fine lines printing c...Category
1940s American Realist Figurative Prints
MaterialsDrypoint
- 'Tree, Manhattan' — Classic American RealismBy Martin LewisLocated in Myrtle Beach, SCMartin Lewis, 'Tree, Manhattan', drypoint, 1930, edition 91 (including 10 trial proofs), McCarron 87. Signed in pencil. A superb, atmospheric impression, in warm black ink, on cream...Category
1930s American Realist Figurative Prints
MaterialsDrypoint
- Studio Interior No. 1 — 1930s MasterworkBy Armin LandeckLocated in Myrtle Beach, SCArmin Landeck, 'Studio Interior No. 1', 1935, drypoint, edition 100, Kraeft 56. Signed in pencil. Signed in the plate, lower right. A fine, richly-inked impression, on cream laid pap...Category
1930s American Realist Figurative Prints
MaterialsDrypoint
- Mosque of the Sultan Bayazid, ConstantinopleBy Louis Conrad RosenbergLocated in Myrtle Beach, SCLouis Conrad Rosenberg, 'Mosque of the Sultan Bayazid, Constantinople', etching, 1927. Signed in pencil. Initialed and dated in the plate, lower left. A fine, richly-inked impression...Category
1920s American Realist Figurative Prints
MaterialsDrypoint
