1963.323
Shadow Dance
Artist
Martin Lewis
(1881 - 1962)
Title
Shadow Dance
Creation Date
1930
Century
20th century
Dimensions
9 7/16 in. x 10 7/8 in. (23.9 cm. x 27.7 cm.)
Object Type
print
Creation Place
North America, United States
Medium and Support
drypoint on paper
Credit Line
Gift of Miss Susan Dwight Bliss
Copyright
This artwork may be under copyright. For further information, please consult the Museum’s
Copyright Terms and Conditions.
Accession Number
1963.323
Martin Lewis was an Australian-born printmaker who worked in newspaper illustration and is noted for the striking use of dark shadows that give his works a film noir-like effect. In Shadow Dance, clusters of backlit female figures, identifiable by their almost ethereal translucent skirts, dominate the frame, their individual features fading almost into silhouette forms while long shadows stretch before them. These figures are juxtaposed with the intense glow seemingly radiating outward from the heart of the city. The clean streets, tall buildings, and the women’s short dresses and cloche hats signal a new urban modernity then emerging in American cities during the 1920s.