Fishermen's Taxis

Jeannette Maxfield Lewis

Fresno, California printmaker Jeannette Maxfield Lewis and her husband summered in Carmel, California where she studied printmaking with Armin Hansen. Like Hansen she drew her inspiration from the wharves and fishermen in the Carmel area.

This intaglio, "Fishermen's Taxis", is done using drypoint. In the foreground is the undulating, shadowy water of Monterey Bay with a group of row-boats that the fishermen used to get to their fishing boats. In the background are the wharves, and shacks where people can be seen doing their jobs to bring in the catch.

Lewis creates a complicated composition, through which she leads the viewer using light and dark and directional lines that break the surface into separate areas of interest.