Quarter to Nine, Saturday’s Children
Artist: Martin Lewis (American, 1882-1962)
Date: 1929
Dimensions:
9 15/16 x 12 7/8 in. (25.3 x 32.5 cm)
Medium: Drypoint
Classification: Prints
Credit Line: Frederick B. and Kate L. Shoemaker Fund
Object number: 1977.74
Label Text:Martin Lewis was born in Castlemaine, Australia. He studied with Julian Ashton, one of the first Australian artists to practice printmaking, before emigrating to the United States and settling in New York City in 1900. Along with the early 20th-century masters John Sloan, Reginald Marsh, and Edward Hopper, Lewis is one of the major printmakers of the American urban scene. His ability to capture the spirit of New York, its light and atmosphere, is unrivalled. Here he depicts a parade of mostly young women on their way to work in the shops (according to the children’s rhyme, “Saturday’s children must work for a living”).
Following a trip to Japan in 1920, where he studied that nation’s art and culture, Lewis began making prints in earnest. Quarter of Nine, Saturday’s Children reveals his style at its very finest. His fascination for the fleeting moment, asymmetrical composition, and atmospheric effects clearly show the influence of Japanese prints. His treatment of his chosen subject—New York and its people–reveals Lewis as the “master-psychologist of the megalopolis.”
Following a trip to Japan in 1920, where he studied that nation’s art and culture, Lewis began making prints in earnest. Quarter of Nine, Saturday’s Children reveals his style at its very finest. His fascination for the fleeting moment, asymmetrical composition, and atmospheric effects clearly show the influence of Japanese prints. His treatment of his chosen subject—New York and its people–reveals Lewis as the “master-psychologist of the megalopolis.”
Not on view
In Collection(s)