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Down to the Sea at Night MARTIN LEWIS American, (1881-1962) Drypoint and sand ground, 1929, McCarron 79, edition 65. 7 7/8 x 12 3/4 in. Signed in the plate, lower left. Signed in pencil. This is a superb, luminous impression printed on white laid paper. The margins are full and the condition is fine. According to McCarron, the intended edition was 75 and only 65 were recorded. This unusual and captivating work is an uncommon print today. SOLD |
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Break in the Thunderstorm MARTIN LEWIS American, (1881-1962) Drypoint, 1930, McCarron 86 (ii/II), intended edition of 85. 12 3/8 x 9 7/8 in. Signed in the plate, lower left. Signed in pencil. This is a superb impression printed on a wove paper with a subtle greenish-blue tint. The margins are full and the condition is exceptionally fine. According to the catalogue, the location is the corner of 34th Street and Park Avenue, near Lewis's studio.
Provenance: Kennedy Galleries, New York (with their label). The McCarron catalogue states 66 recorded impressions including 16 trials. SOLD |
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Chance Meeting MARTIN LEWIS American, (1881-1962) Drypoint, 1940-41, McCarron 131, edition 105. 10 1/2 x 7 1/2 in. Initialed in the plate, lower left. Signed in pencil. This is a superb impression with full margins. The condition is excellent.
This outstanding print was commissioned by the Society of American Etchers and they were originally known as the Brooklyn Society of Etchers. The plate was printed by Charles White. Thirty-seven impressions are cited in museum collections. As McCarron states, "This is one of Lewis's most complex prints, one in which he was able to harmonize many diverse elements." SOLD |
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Ha'nted MARTIN LEWIS American, (1881-1962) Drypoint and sand ground, 1932, McCarron 100, edition 107. 13 1/4 x 8 7/8 in. Signed in the plate, lower left. Signed in pencil and inscribed, "to Chas S. White from M.L." This is a superb impression with full margins. The condition is excellent apart from a small speck of printer's ink in the outer right margin. (Note: Charles S. White was the printer for many of Lewis's plates. There is no record that Lewis used any other printer than White throughout his career.) This outstanding, underrated print was done in Sandy Hook, Connecticut where the Lewis family lived in the early 1930s. $11,000 |
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Corner Shadows MARTIN LEWIS American, (1881-1962) Drypoint and sand ground, 1930, McCarron 83 (ii/II), edition 242. 8 3/8 x 9 in. Signed in the plate, lower left. Signed in pencil. This is a fine, luminous impression with full margins. The condition is fine apart from two small indiscreet hinges on the verso, top corners. This stellar work is included in at least twenty-five museum collections. This work was commissioned by the Print Club of Cleveland and the preparatory drawings and proofs are now in the Cleveland Museum of Art. The edition was printed by Charles S. White. SOLD |
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Derricks at Night MARTIN LEWIS American, (1881-1962) Drypoint, 1927, McCarron 62 (i/II); edition 104. 7 7/8 x 11 3/4 in. Signed in the plate, lower right. Signed in pencil. This is a superb impression with full margins. The paper is ARCHES and the condition is excellent. According to McCarron, "'Derricks at Night' is the only Lewis print with such extensive changes between states. The second state was begun two years after he had essentially finished the composition, an exception to Lewis's usual procedure in completing a plate." Both versions are exceptionally fine and a casual glance at museum collections which own this print show an almost equal number of museums own the first or the second states. First state impressions are owned by the Whitney Museum, the Museum of Modern Art and the Achenbach Foundation for the Graphic Arts, among others. This engaging print has a compelling sense of geometry and a single worker walks along on the street at night, conveying the solitude of the evening. SOLD |
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Night in New York MARTIN LEWIS American, (1881-1962) 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 |
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Ice Cream Cones MARTIN LEWIS American, (1881-1962) Drypoint and sand ground, 1928, McCarron 73, edition 70. 9 3/8 x 14 3/4 in. Signed in the plate lower left. Signed in pencil. (This fine impression was printed by the artist.) The margins are full and the condition is very good. (There's a small, subtle stain to the right of the image in the margin only.) This impression went through Kennedy Galleries as their price code is in pencil on the verso. SOLD |
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The Roustabout MARTIN LEWIS American, (1881-1962) 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 |
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Tree Manhattan MARTIN LEWIS American, (1881-1962) Drypoint, 1930, McCarron 87, edition 91 including 10 trial proofs. 12 7/8 x 9 7/8 in. Signed in the plate, lower left. Signed in pencil. This is a superb, luminous impression with full margins. The condition is fine. (There's just a very faint suggestion of a mat line.) This exceptional print contains all the elements of a great Martin Lewis; dramatic lights and darks, solitary figures, well-integrated architectural design and there's that added element of urban mystery to engage our imagination. SOLD |
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East Side Night, Williamsburg Bridge MARTIN LEWIS American, (1881-1962) Etching, 1928, McCarron 71, edition 69. 9 5/8 x 11 7/8 in. Signed in the plate, lower left. Signed in pencil. This is a fine, luminous impression with full margins. The condition is also fine. This successful print won the Art Institute of Chicago's prestigious Frank G. Logan Purchase Prize in 1929. Another impression was purchased by the Metropolitan Museum of art early on. Fifteen impressions are cited in museum collections in the catalogue. (The Williamsburg Bridge crosses the East River connecting the Lower East Side with the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn. It was opened in 1903.) SOLD |
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Under the Street Lamp MARTIN LEWIS American, (1881-1962) Etching, 1928, McCarron 70; edition 83. 14 7/8 x 9 1/4 in. Signed in the plate, lower right. Signed in pencil. This is a fine impression with full margins. The condition is also fine. This carefully crafted print, done exclusively in etching, captures the spirit of the moment with three women talking against a dark wooded background. $10,000 |
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Along Side TOD LINDENMUTH American, (1885-1976) Linoleum cut printed in colors, undated (circa 1920), small edition. 9 x 7 in. Signed and titled n pencil. This is a fine, rich impression with full margins. The paper is a thick, fibrous wove sheet and the condition is fine. (There's a subtle suggestion of foxing in the upper right margin, outside if the image.) Lindenmuth was included in Janet Flint's landmark exhibition, Provincetown Printers; A Woodcut Tradition (1983). He is also represented in A Spectrum of Innovation; Color in American Printmaking 1890-1960, by David Acton (1990). SOLD |
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Manta's Wharf (Provincetown) TOD LINDENMUTH American, (1885-1976) Linoleum cut, circa 1920, edition unknown. 13 3/4 x 10 3/4 in. Signed and titled in pencil. This is a superb impression of this extremely rare and masterful print. The margins are full and the condition is fine. Lindenmuth is one of the original members of the Provincetown Printers and one of the earliest artists to work almost exclusively in the linoleum cut medium. Manta's Wharf was built in the mid 19th century off of Commercial Street. It was badly damaged in a 1917 storm and was gone by 1929. This is arguably Lindenmuth's finest print and it's extremely rare. (The print is beautifully framed to museum standards.) SOLD |
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The Home Port TOD LINDENMUTH American, (1885-1976) Linoleum cut printed in colors, circa 1920, small edition. 8 x 6 in. Signed and titled in pencil. Here we have a very good impression printed on a fibrous, white wove paper. The condition is good and there are subtle spots of foxing showing in the full margins but they do not affect the image. Lindenmuth was included in Janet Flint's landmark exhibition, Provincetown Printers, A Woodcut Tradition (1983). He's also included in David Acton's 1990 catalogue, A Spectrum of Innovation; Color in American Printmaking 1890-1960. SOLD |
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Cathedral Spires TOD LINDENMUTH American, (1885-1976) Linoleum cut, undated (circa 1920-25?), edition unknown. 12 3/4 x 10 1/2 in. Signed and titled in pencil. This is a stellar impression of this extremely rare and stunning print. The margins are full and the condition is fine. Lindenmuth was one of the original members of the Provincetown printers group and he specialized in scenes of boats and fishermen in the Cape Cod area. He was employed by the WPA during the 1930s. Cathedral Spires are located in Custer State Park in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Birger Sandzen produced a very similar block print of this subject in 1922. $1,000 |
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Fog Bound TOD LINDENMUTH American, (1885-1976) Linoleum cut printed in colors, circa 1920, small edition. 14 1/8 x 11 1/8 in. Signed and titled in pencil. Here we have a fine impression of this large, exemplary work. The margins are modest but sustantial enough and the condition is excellent. Lindenmuth studied in New York with Robert Henri and later in Provincetown with Ambrose Webster and George Elmer Browne. He first exhibited his prints in Provincetown in 1915 and later. Lindenmuth was included in Janet Flint's landmark exhibition, Provincetown Printers; A Woodcut Tradition (1983). He is also represented in A Spectrum of Innovation; Color in American Printmaking 1890-1960, by David Acton (1990). SOLD |
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Clothes Shop (New York) CHARLES LOCKE American, (1889-1983) Lithograph, 1936 or 1937, edition about 25. 11 x 6 5/8 in. Signed on the stone with the artists monogram. Signed and titled in pencil below the image. This is a fine impression with full margins. The condition is excellent. This print was done as part of the New York Federal Art Project and bears the ink stamp. Locke excelled in lithography and he worked closely with Joseph Pennell at the Art Students League. He eventually succeeded Pennell there as Instructor of Lithography. There was a retrospective of his work at the Pratt Graphics Center and Pratt Institute in 1985. This work is illustrated on page 107 of The Federal Art Project: American Prints From the 1930s (1985) University of Michigan. SOLD |
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The Elevated MARGARET LOWENGRUND American, (1902-1957) Lithograph, 1935-40, edition probably about 25. 11 1/4 x 12 2/4 in. Initialed on the stone, lower left. Signed and titled in pencil. This is a fine impression with full margins. The condition is very good apart from a faint suggestion of a mat line from an earlier mat opening and some toning along the top margin edge from an old tape adhesive. (This is well away from the image.) Lowengrund was born in Philadelphia and worked in Woodstock, New York as well as in the City. This exemplary work bears the stamp of the NYC WPA Federal Art Project. An impression is found in the Detroit Institute of Arts. SOLD |
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Edison Plant LOUIS LOZOWICK American, (1893-1973) Lithograph, 1929, Flint 24; edition 20. 13 1/2 x 7 7/8 in. Signed and numbered in pencil. Here we have a fine, rich impression with full margins. The condition is excellent. There were five subsequent impressions printed in 1972 by Burr Miller and numbered i/X-v/X. $5,500 |
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