If you like modern art, you may be familiar with the name Edward Hopper (1882-1967), the acclaimed American artist who painted moody noir scenes of everyday life in the urban America in the 1930s to 1950s – a lone diner in a café. folks downing beer in street-corner pub, office workers glimpsed from another building, tired travelers resting in a motel and so forth. But few people have ever heard of Martin Lewis (1881-1962), the man who captured New York better than anyone. Lewis was a master of the nocturne. He created atmosphere noir style etchings that captured the daily life and rhythms of New York City in the early 20^th century. He was a key influence on Hopper who in 1915 was a struggling illustrator who didn’t know much about etchings, but Lewis took him under his wings and taught him how to portray light and shadow to create unforgettable moods. Lewis was a wizard at dry point etching; he didn’t just draw New York, he captured its soul – people waiting for the train, the rain and the steam, the streetlights and shadows of a fast-growing city, in short, the noir atmosphere before film noir existed. You can see his influence all over Edward Hopper’s later masterpieces, but sadly, whilst Hopper became world renowned, Martin Lewis was forgotten, like the nameless characters in his etchings.

Selected Etchings of Martin Lewis