Derricks at Night
Martin Lewis (1882-1962), Derricks at Night, drypoint, 1927. McCarron 62, edition 104, one of 47 first state impressions. Signed in pencil; also signed in the plate, lower right. Titled in pencil, in the bottom left sheet edge.
Image size 7 7/8 x 11 7/8 inches (200 x 301 mm), sheet size 12 x 16 1/8 inches (305 x 410 mm).
A superb, atmospheric impression in warm black ink, with rich burr, on cream wove paper; full margins (2 to 2 1/4 inches), in excellent condition.
Illustrated in Contemporary American Etching, American Art Dealers Association, New York, 1930.
Derricks at Night is one of the few Lewis prints having more than one state; the composition was substantially set in the first state but small adjustments in many areas were made for a second state (e.g., “wooden slat below globe of lamp defined; bracket holding streetlight strengthened”, etc.). In general in such cases collectors typically prefer impressions of the first state (such as this impression) since the plate was slightly fresher at this stage in the print’s development. Of course the most serious collectors opt for impressions of both states!
Derricks at night is one of Lewis’s great Precisionist works, seemingly also demonstrating a cubist sensibility.