High Bridge (Paris)

Allen Lewis

Allen Lewis was influenced by Whistler while in Paris and the unfinished ghost-like figure in the lower right and the artist's initials incorporated into the image, also in the lower right, pay homage to his fellow American with whom he exhibited in the Paris Salon in 1900. The figures on the bridge and in the foreground establish a sense of scale to the bridge.

The actual bridge over the Seine in Paris is not identified, this impressionistic composition appears to be a walking bridge under construction, engineered with a complicated structure of wooden beams and scaffolding. In the 19th century many of the old wooden bridges were replaced with stone.

Born in Mobile, Alabama, April 7, 1873, Allen Lewis moved at age four with his family to Buffalo, New York. When Lewis graduated from high school, he enrolled at the Buffalo Art Students League where he studied under the Canadian painter, George Bridgman. In search of greater opportunities, he sailed for Paris in 1894, at the age of 21.

In October 1895, Lewis made his first etchings, some of which he proudly sent home. His friend, illustrator Ernest Haskell encouraged him in these earliest attempts. Lewis was pleased with one of his showings, as he wrote to his parents that his etching is placed along side of Whistler's and was “not hurt very much by the comparison although he is one of the greatest modern etchers as well as the greatest painter.”

Lewis exhibited his works and won honors for them throughout his career. In 1904 the first honor came through a bronze medal at the St. Louis Exposition. A decade later, at the 1915 Panama Pacific Exposition in San Francisco, he won a gold medal for his showing. In the following year, Lewis participated in the first annual exhibition of the Brooklyn Society of Etchers, an organization of which he served as the first president. Finally, in 1929, he was elected an Associate of the National Academy of Design, and in 1935 made a full Academician.