Sep 22, 2016 - Sale 2422

Sale 2422 - Lot 180

Price Realized: $ 32,500
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 20,000 - $ 30,000
MARTIN LEWIS
Rainy Day Queens.

Drypoint, 1931. 270x301 mm; 10 5/8x11 7/8 inches, full margins. Edition of 70. Signed in pencil, lower right. A brilliant impression with richly-inked burr, particularly on the figures in the foreground, and with all the fine lines distinct.

Among Lewis' most masterful prints are those depicting scenes of New York City life. These prints have historical interest, as the imagery captures the architecture and urban scenery of the time, while simultaneously incorporating ephemeral moments. The time of day, the weather, the lighting, the street-level views--each aspect was important and added to the atmosphere of the scene. Lewis' use of shadows and light to create mood, life and movement is most powerful in his New York prints.

Rainy Day, Queens is among his most celebrated works, incorporating all of the aspects that make these prints such cherished glimpses into New York's bustling yester-year, while simultaneously capturing the timelessness of city life. McCarron 94.