MARTIN LEWIS, (American, 1883-1962), Bedford Street

MARTIN LEWIS
(American, 1883-1962)
Bedford Street Gang
drypoint
signed Martin Lewis in pencil, l.r.
sheet: 12 3/4 x 17 3/4 in., frame: 15 3/4 x 21 1/4 in.

Provenance: A Beacon Hill, Boston Couple.

Other Notes: Born in Australia in 1881, Martin Lewis moved the United States in 1900 and soon found work as a commercial illustrator. By 1915, he produced his earliest known etching, and he is thought to have instructed Edward Hopper in the medium at this time.
Lewis is best known for his realist drypoint street scenes of New York and his striking balance of light and dark within a composition. Bedford Street Gang is seen as a key example of his mastery of the medium. The work is thought to have been printed in an edition of twenty five, and fewer than ten examples have appeared at auction in the last thirty years. The scene depicts Bedford Street in Greenwich Village, looking toward Christopher Street.