Country Scene with Man Walking
Etching and drypoint, circa 1915, McCarron 6, edition listed as 1 recorded impression. 9 x 10 1/2 in. Signed in the plate, lower right. Signed in pencil. This is a fine impression printed on laid paper with light plate tone. The margins are wide and the condition is good. There's a suggestion of toning showing within an early mat opening and a faintly darkened area in the tree branches at left. The one impression listed and illustrated in the catalogue by McCarron is in the collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts. This is the second recorded impression of this early print and there are no listed auction records to indicate any other impressions. This exceedingly rare early print is indicative of the artist's emerging skills as a printmaker.
SOLD

Night in New York
Etching, 1932, McCarron 102, edition 135. 8 3/8 x 8 3/4 in. Signed in the plate, lower right. Signed in pencil. This is a fine, richly inked impression printed with retroussage. This was the presentation print for the Chicago Society of Etchers and their blindstamp appears in the lower left corner of the sheet. The margins are full and the condition is fine. McCarron states, "Retroussage is used to obtain a softer but stronger and richer effect. In this technique the printer drags a cloth, preferably muslin, over the already inked lines of a heated plate in order to raise the ink, making it spread over both edges of the etched lines." This edition was printed by Charles White who was the only other printer Lewis liked. Lewis gave White specific directions: "wipe clean, very clean on window and light foreground - retroussage on background and darks, very little retrossage on pavement and window."
SOLD

Puffing Billies
Etching and sand ground, 1916, McCarron 20, edition 15. 13 x 9 3/4 in. Signed in pencil. This is a superb, atmospheric impression with full margins. The condition is fine. (There's a minor smudge on the right margin.) This dynamic, early work depicts New York harbor and the subject of tugboats turns up in other Lewis prints (see McCarron 2,21,28 & 38.) Provenance: Kennedy Galleries, NY (with their label).
SOLD

The Roustabout
Etching with sand ground, 1916, McCarron 14, edition only 6. 8 7/8 x 6 in. Signed in pencil. This is a fine impression of this rare, early work. The margins are full and the condition is fine. (There's a very faint suggestion of toning within an early mat opening.) The bridge in the distance is Manhattan Bridge. This is only one of two images by Lewis where an African American is the primary subject of the print. A roustabout is an itinerant laborer who often works the docks or oil fields.
SOLD

The Wayfarer
Etching and aquatint, circa 1947, McCarron 135, edition 2. 4 5/8 x 3 7/8 in. Initialed in the plate, lower left. Signed in pencil lower right. This is a fine impression of this exceedingly rare print. The paper is white wove and the margins are wide and probably untrimmed. The condition is fine apart from the subtle suggestion of toning within an early mat opening. The other known impression, which is illustrated in the catalogue by McCarron, is located in the Detroit Institute of Arts. This small, compelling portrait has a somber intensity which goes beyond much of the artist's typical portraiture. According to the catalogue (page 227), the white highlights were produced by applying lithographic crayon before placing the plate in the acid bath.
SOLD

Three Girls Conversing
Etching with drypoint, circa 1946, McCarron 134 (ii/II), edition 7. 6 7/8 x 9 7/8 in. Signed in the plate, lower left. Signed "Martin Lewis, P.L." (Patricia Lewis) in the lower right. This is a fine impression printed on cream wove paper. The margins are full and the condition is excellent. This rare print bears the stamp, verso, of Lucile Deming Lewis (not in Lugt), see McCarron pages 37-38.
SOLD

Under the Street Lamp
Etching, 1928, McCarron 70, edition 83. 14 7/8 x 9 3/8 in. Signed in the plate, lower right. Signed in pencil. This is a superb impression printed on white laid paper with full margins. The condition is excellent. From the collection of Patricia Lewis with her stamp on the bottom edge of the sheet, verso.
SOLD