Drypoint, 1928. 256x298 mm; 9 5/8x11 3/4 inches, full margins. Edition of 108. Signed in pencil, lower right. Ex-collection Bethesda Gallery, Bethesda, with the label on the frameback. A luminous, richly-inked impression of this important print.
Lewis (1881-1962) produced 32 prints between 1915 and 1920 before leaving for Japan that year. His stay was cut short in 1922 after experiencing difficulty learning the language and little commercial success. Though brief, this sojourn to Japan proved indispensable to his artistic development. His exposure to the Japanese sensibility influenced his printmaking following his return to America (he produced no prints in Japan, only watercolors and oils), as he honed his ability to imbue the mundane with the extraordinary--to take the simple moments he witnessed around New York City, as well as his country home in nearby Connecticut, and capture their profundity and beauty in etchings and drypoints. McCarron 72.
