"Shadows on the Road"

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(1926)

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"Shadows on the Road", 1926, drypoint printed in greenish black, 201x251mm; 7 3/8" x 9 7/8", full margins. Edition 54 (of an intended edition of 60). Lewis noted in his record book "plate canceled and "Agar Prize, National Arts Club, December, -26".   Pencil signed, lower right margin. A very good, luminous impression with warm plate tones [McCarron 48].

Martin Lewis (1881-1962) is regarded as one of the world's finest artists in intaglio techniques. Compared to Edward Hopper, in that both created stark depiction's of the loneliness and solitude of the human condition. Lewis' varied intaglio prints focused on the striking qualities of geometry and light, both intricate and delicate.  His impeccable use of traditional intaglio techniques - in this case drypoint - and the precise rendering of space, geometry and light all create the sense of the isolation of humankind juxtaposed in nature. Lewis draws out the scene's geometry creating a strong sensation of light and space.

Martin Lewis left Japan with a deep regard for the natural beauty of the Japanese landscape, way of life and Japanese reverence for nature.  He had assimilated some of the Japanese sensibility for the careful arrangement of objects.  In 1925, Lewis resumed etching and embarked on work that brought him his first critical acclaim for his prints. He produced twenty-four prints in four years; fourteen of them portraying Japanese subjects based on drawings he made while in Japan.

Martin Lewis' "Shadows on the Road" is in a simply carved highly polished 21" x 22 1/2" frame with the look of beaten iron.  The wood fillet echoes the frame. The outer khaki linen and 8-ply pearl white rag under-mat are acid and lignin free and are protected with Acrylite-AR OP3 (UV) by CYRO ........ $1,600.00