Bookplates

The Martin Lewis Memorial Book Fund

July 1, 1976

This book fund was established in 1976 by Eugene Lewis, former Provost and Associate Professor of Government, in memory of his father, Martin Lewis, who was an artist. Eugene Lewis designated the purchase of books to benefit the Art Department.

Martin Lewis was renowned for his work as a painter and printmaker, with pieces that often focused on representations of urban and pastoral landscapes. He earned distinction for his unique style, with eerie tones and subtle noir qualities. Before beginning his career in the United States, he studied at the Art Society’s School in Sydney, Australia. Following his training, his career as an artist spanned work in newspaper illustration, stage painting, and eventually printmaking, after spending two years studying the art form in Japan from 1920-1922. Some of his most famous etchings can be found today in the collections of the Brooklyn Museum, the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C., The Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Art Institute of Chicago, among others. 

A political scientist, Eugene Lewis is known as one of the leading academic authorities on the concept of political entrepreneurship. He received his B.A. degree from Temple University, his master’s from Indiana University, and his Ph.D. from Syracuse University. He was an instructor at Hamilton College, as well as at the New College of Florida.