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Order Artwork Replica Day`s End, 1937 by Martin Lewis (Inspired By) (1881-1962) | ArtsDot.com

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Day's End



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The painting Day's End by Martin Lewis is a thought-provoking artwork that showcases the artist's unique style and technique. Created in 1937, this drypoint on paper measures 34 x 43 cm and is currently housed at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. The image depicts a town scene with people walking down the street in front of buildings, showcasing the daily life of workers at the end of their day.

Artistic Style and Technique

Martin Lewis's use of drypoint on paper creates a sense of depth and texture, drawing the viewer's eye into the scene. The careful wiping of the plate tone gives the impression a rich, glowing effect, as seen in other works by Lewis, such as Quarter of Nine, Saturday's Children. This technique is reminiscent of other artists, such as Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, who also experimented with drypoint and cubism.

Historical Context

The painting Day's End is a representation of the daily life of workers during the 1930s, a time of great social and economic change. The scene depicted in the painting is one of quiet contemplation, with workers walking home from their jobs, lost in thought. This sense of introspection is a common theme in Lewis's work, as seen in his other paintings, such as Pop's Tavern.
  • The painting Day's End is a prime example of American Realism, a style that emerged in the early 20th century.
  • The use of drypoint on paper creates a sense of texture and depth, drawing the viewer's eye into the scene.
  • The painting is housed at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, which features a wide range of American art, including works by Martin Lewis and other notable artists.
Visit https://ArtsDot.com to learn more about Martin Lewis and his artwork, and to explore the world of handmade oil painting reproductions. For more information on the history of painting, visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_painting.
To view more artworks by Martin Lewis, visit https://ArtsDot.com and discover the beauty of handmade oil painting reproductions.
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Martin Lewis

Martin Lewis was an Australian-born American etcher.
Lewis was born in Castlemaine, Victoria, Australia on 7 June 1881. He was the second of eight children and had a passion for drawing. At the age of 15, he left home and traveled in New South Wales, Australia, and in New Zealand, working as a pothole digger and a merchant seaman. He returned to Sydney and settled into a Bohemian community outside Sydney. Two of his drawings were published in the radical Sydney newspaper, The Bulletin. He studied with Julian Ashton at the Art Society's School in Sydney. Ashton, a famous painter, was also one of the first Australian artists to take up printmaking.
In 1900, Lewis left Australia for the United States. His first job was in San Francisco, painting stage decorations for William McKinley's presidential campaign of 1900. By 1909, Lewis was living in New York, where he found work in commercial illustration. His earliest known etching is dated 1915. However, the level of skill in this piece suggests he had been working in the medium for some time previously. It was during this period that he helped Edward Hopper learn the basics of etching. In 1920, after the breakup of a romance, Lewis traveled to Japan, where for two years he drew and painted and studied Japanese art. The influence of Japanese prints is very evident in Lewis's prints after that period. In 1925, he returned to etching and produced most of his well-known works between 1925 and 1935 Lewis's first solo exhibition in 1929 was successful enough for him to give up commercial work and concentrate entirely on printmaking.
Lewis is most famous for his black and white prints, mostly of night scenes of non-tourist, real life street scenes of New York City. During the Depression, however, he was forced to leave the city for four years between 1932 and 1936 and move to Newtown, Connecticut. His work from this period includes a number of rural, night-time and winter scenes in this area and nearby Sandy Hook. When Lewis was able to return to the New York City in 1936, there was no longer a market interested in his work. He taught printmaking at the Art Students League of New York from 1944 until his retirement in 1952. Lewis died largely forgotten in 1962.
Lewis's print, Shadow Dance, sold for $50,400 at the Scenes of the City: Prints, Drawings & Paintings of New York 1900–2000 auction in New York on October 2010, setting a record price for the artist at auction.
The Bruce Museum in Greenwich, Connecticut, staged an exhibition of Martin Lewis prints in October 2011 drawn from the collection of Dr. Dorrance Kelly. The Bruce Museum said of Lewis: "Recognized as one of the premier American printmakers of the first half of the 20th century, Martin Lewis left an indelible mark on the landscape of the art world. Lewis was an acknowledged master of the intaglio techniques of printmaking, experimenting with multiple processes including etching, aquatint, engraving and drypoint. A highly skilled printer, Lewis created magnificent impressions that captured the energy, bustle and occasional solitude of all aspects of city life in New York. With his remove to Connecticut in 1932, Lewis instigated another topic through his printmaking: country life. This firmly entrenched Lewis as a prominent America scene artist, who captured the intersection between the urban and rural environments and shed light on the slowly emerging suburban culture."
Institutions holding Lewis' work include the Brooklyn Museum, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Philadelphia Museum of Art and others.

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