“Martin Lewis was born in Castlemaine, Australia, on July 9, 1880, the second of eight children. His father Evan Lewis was born in Pembrokeshire, Wales, and his mother, Victoria Caroline Spice, was born in Melborne, Australia. Evan Lewis found work shortly after he married Victoria Spice on November 16, 1878, with Thompson & Co. Founders and Engineers in Castlemaine. The couple moved into a small cottage near the foundry. As the family grew they moved into a larger home the family called Sunnyside. It was at Sunnyside that Martin grew up.” (1)
“He began drawing at an early age, and by his teens he had acquired an ability to record his immediate impressions of a specific place with skill and accuracy. At the age of fifteen he ran away from home, travelling and sketching in the Australian outback and in New Zealand and later working as a sailor.” (2)
“For a brief period Lewis studied with Julian Ashton, a prominent artist and teacher in Australia. He had several drawings accepted as illustrations for newspapers and Paul McCarron believed he was exposed to printmaking by viewing old master prints during this time. At some point he was advised that if he wanted to become famous, he should go to the United States.” (1)
“In 1900, he moved to San Francisco, where he worked as a decorative stage painter for William McKinley’s presidential campaign.” (3)
“He eventually worked his way eastward to New York. Little is known about his life during the following decade except that he made a living as a commercial artist and produced his first etching in 1915. Lewis' skill as an etcher was noticed by Edward Hopper, who became a lifelong friend.” (4)
“In 1910 he traveled to London and Wales, visiting his brother, Llewellyn, a priest, and his uncle in Wales...During this trip he also met Esta Verez, a singer. The two were together for the next decade.” (1)
“In 1920, dissatisfied with his job, Lewis used his entire savings to study art and to sketch in Japan.” (4)
“The trip was important for the artist – he studied Ukiyo-E and other styles of Japanese art. He did paintings, watercolors, and drawings every day. He did not work on any prints, but he refined his artistic vision. He was not working at a job, just working on art. Sixteen months later he was broke and arranged to return to New York.” (1)
“When the Depression hit, Lewis left New York and moved to Connecticut. He drew and printed rural nighttime and winter scenes. After four years in Connecticut, he move back to New York but no longer had a market that would support his work.” (5)
“In 1924 he began making prints again – His subjects were from his travels in Japan. The Downtown Gallery represented him briefly before Kennedy Galleries. His first exhibition at Kennedy Galleries was in 1927 primarily for his watercolors; he included a few of his drypoints as well. The drypoints sold well and caught the attention of Otto Torrington, the head of the Print Department at Kennedy Galleries. The next year he had an exhibition at Kennedy Galleries featuring his etchings and drypoints. The demand for his prints at that show was overwhelming.” (1)
“Lewis had his first solo show with Kennedy and Company in 1929 and was awarded the Charles M.Lea prize in 1930 for Glow of the City and in 1931 for Spring Night, Greenwich Village, establishing him as a master American printmaker.” (5)
“Lewis met Lucile Deming through some literary friends: the poets Laura Benet, Lola Ridge and writers Evelyn Scott and Kay Boyle. They married in 1924. Martin Deming Lewis, their only child, was born on October 29, 1924. His birth certificate was listed as “Boy” Lewis because his father wanted to name him Hayden Seymour Lewis, but his mother would have no part of it. His father would call him Hayden for the rest of his life. His son officially changed his name when he entered the military during WWII.” (1)
“He taught printmaking at the Art Students League from 1944 through his retirement in 1952. Lewis died in 1962, at age 81, his work mostly forgotten.” (5)
Reference
1. The Old Print Shop Staff. Artist Spotlight: Martin Lewis [internet]. New York, NY: The Old Print Shop; 2018 Nov 8 [cited 2020 Jan 14]. Available from: http://oldprintshop.com/blog/artist-spotlight-martin-lewis
2. Askart Staff. Martin Lewis (1881-1962) [internet]. [cited 2020 Jan 14]. Available from: https://www.askart.com/artist_bio/Martin_Lewis/20384/Martin_Lewis.aspx
3. Artnet Staff. Martin Lewis (American, 1881-1962) [internet]. Artnet [cited 2020 Jan 14]. Available from: http://www.artnet.com/artists/martin-lewis/
4. National Gallery of Art Staff. Martin Lewis [internet]. National Gallery of Art [cited 2020 Jan 14]. Available from: https://www.nga.gov/collection/artist-info.4704.html
5. Surovek Gallery Staff. Martin Lewis [internet]. Palm Beach, FL: Surovek Gallery [cited 2020 Jan 14]. Available from: http://surovekgallery.com/martin-lewis/