Shadow Magic
MARTIN LEWIS
American, (1881-1962)
Drypoint, 1939, McCarron 126, edition 34. 13 1/2 x 9 1/2 in. Initialed in the plate, lower left. Signed in pencil. This is a superb, luminous impression with full margins. The printed surface is pristine. The condition is excellent. As McCarron mentions in the catalogue on page 216, "this is one of Lewis's most abstract designs." (This is also the only Martin Lewis print with a cat in it.) Provenance: Knoedler Galleries, NY.
SOLD

Arc Welders at Night
MARTIN LEWIS
American, (1881-1962)
Drypoint and sand ground, 1937, McCarron 124, edition 33. 10 x 8 in. Signed in pencil. This is a superb, luminous impression printed on white wove paper. The printed surface is pristine. The margins are full and the condition is excellent. To quote McCarron, "Lewis's use of the almost cubist device of overlapping, transparent planes of light, produced by the arc welder's torch, is unique in his oeuvre." (See page 212.) (Provenance: Kennedy Galleries, NY.)
SOLD

Arch, Midnight
MARTIN LEWIS
American, (1881-1962)
Drypoint, 1930, McCarron 84, edition 99 plus 12 trial proofs. 8 x 11 1/2 in. Signed in the plate lower left. Signed in pencil. This is a superb, dark impression with full margins. The condition is fine with the printed surface pristine without any blemishes. According to McCarron, a possible source of inspiration for this print is L'Arche du Pont, Notre Dame, by Charles Meryon.
SOLD

Snow on the El
MARTIN LEWIS
American, (1881-1962)
Drypoint and sand ground, 1931, McCarron 95, edition 49 including 5 trial proofs. 14 x 9 in. Signed in the plate. Signed in pencil, lower right. This is a superb, atmospheric impression of this great American print from the 1930s. The margins are full and the condition is excellent. The location depicted here is 23rd Street and Sixth Avenue in New York City.
SOLD

Stoops in Snow
MARTIN LEWIS
American, (1881-1962)
Drypoint and sand ground, 1930, McCarron 89 (ii/II); edition 115. 10 x 15 in. Signed in the plate, lower left. Signed in pencil. This is a fine, atmospheric impression with full margins printed on a subtle, slightly bluish paper. The condition is fine apart from a subtle soft crease in the lower left corner margin. This, along with Snow on the El, are among the finest snow scenes created by the artist. This was a very popular print as the edition was virtually sold out during Lewis's lifetime.
SOLD

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

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

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

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

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

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.
$9,000

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

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

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

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

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.)
$10,000

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

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

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

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