Swann Galleries - 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings - Sale 2422, September 22, 2016

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175 ● MARTIN LEWIS
Relics (Speakeasy Corner).
Drypoint, 1928. 302x252 mm; 11 7/8x97/8 inches, full margins. Edition of 111. Signed in
pencil, lower right. A brilliant, luminous impression of this important print with richly-
inked, velvety burr.
According to McCarron, the location of this scene is at the intersection of Charles Street
andWest Fourth Street in GreenwichVillage.The location of the speakeasy alluded to in
Lewis’s title was on the ground floor of the building across the street in the upper left, a
space that was later occupied by Camilla’s Village Garden restaurant. Kennedy Galleries
changed Lewis’s title to Relics, probably in an attempt to tone down the subject.
This was Lewis’s most popular print during his lifetime. He sold out the entire intended
edition of 100 soon after its completion, and it remains one of his most sought after prints
today. McCarron 74. [30,000/50,000]