Martin Lewis
(American, born Australia, 1881–1962)
A Quarter of Nine, Saturday’s Children
Object Details
Artist
Martin Lewis
Date
1929
Medium
Drypoint
Dimensions
Image: 9 13/16 x 12 3/4 inches (24.9 x 32.4 cm)
Sheet: 13 3/4 × 18 1/4 inches (34.9 × 46.4 cm)
Credit Line
Bequest of William P. Chapman, Jr., Class of 1895
Object
Number
56.423
Known as a chronicler of city life, Martin Lewis created images of the street and its inhabitants im(…)
Known as a chronicler of city life, Martin Lewis created images of the street and its inhabitants imbued with intense life and drama. Here he shows a march of men and women down 34th Street in the morning. Lewis emphasizes outward movement by unrealistically curving the street downward. As one looks further down the sidewalk, the perspective of the viewer looks up at the people rather than eye to eye, so they appear to be moving faster as they walk down the ramped sidewalk. Lewis also uses dynamic lighting to increase the forward-leaning feeling of the print. The shadows of the people all appear at least twice the size of the figures they represent and come toward us. Overall, Lewis imbues his image of a Saturday morning with incredible energy and motion, mimicking the lives he was witnessing in a greatly changing New York.
(“Imprint/ In Print,” curated by Nancy E. Green with assistance from Christian Waibel ’17 and presented at the Johnson Museum August 8 – December 20, 2015)
