“[Alexander Levy] was born May 26, 1881,in Bonn, Germany. His family immigrated to America when Levy was three, settling in Cincinnati.” (1)
“He was a child prodigy; at age eight he won a city-wide art prize awarded by the local newspapers; at twelve, he turned down a scholarship to study the violin in Europe. In his teens, Levy studied at the Cincinnati School of Music and the Cincinnati Art School under the artist Frank Duveneck.” (2)
“He later studied at the New York School of Fine And Applied Art with Ossip Leonovitch Linde (Russian-American 1871-1940), William Merritt Chase (American, 1849-1916) and Robert Henri (American, 1865-1929).” (3)
“In 1909, Levy moved to Buffalo where he worked as a commercial artist, illustrator, and painter for the remainder of his life. His illustrations appeared in publications such as The Saturday Evening Post, Saint Nicholas Magazine, and The Century.” (1)
“While in Buffalo he also worked for thirteen years as the Art Director of the Larkin Company (AKA Larkin Soap Co.) and began designing the color covers to their catalogs and also designed the Company's 50th Anniversary booklet.” (3)
“When he was hired by Larkin the company was ascending to a corporate powerhouse, having worked with the great marketing mind of Elbert Hubbard within the design aesthetic of Frank Lloyd Wright.” (2)
“In 1923, Levy had his first major exhibit at the Ainslie Gallery in New York City. The Ainslie show led to growing recognition and further success.” (4)
“A member of the Buffalo Society of Art, the Society for Sanity in Art, and the Salmagundi Club, he exhibited at the Salons of America (1922-23), Society of Independent Artists (1920-23), Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (1925), Albright Art Gallery (1925-46), Rundel Art Gallery, Rochester, NY (annually), and the Buffalo Society of Art (1922-24, 1935, 1937-38).” (5)
“The Great Depression hurt most American artists, and the market for regional art all but evaporated, and Levy’s work in national and international exhibitions almost halted by the late 1930’s. A number of factors explain his almost disappearance from the national art scene by the late 1930s. Under the impact of the economic crisis, Levy changed his style. His work became more realistic, his brushstrokes tighter and his focus switched from fantasies to a concern with social problems. He did a series of sensitive paintings of American Blacks. He also painted church and temple windows, building murals on historic and religious themes.” (4)
“He died in 1946 in Buffalo, New York.” (5)
Reference
1. Burchfield Penney Art Center Staff. Alexander O. Levy [internet]. Buffalo, NY: Burchfield Penney Art Center; 2019 [cited 2019 Dec 5]. Available from: https://www.burchfieldpenney.org/artists/artist:alexander-o-levy/
2. Lesliez. Alex O. Levy: American Artist, Art Deco Painter [internet]. Buffalo, NY: Larkin Square; 2015 Jan 20 [cited 2019 Dec 5] Available from: https://larkinsquare.com/alex-o-levy-american-artist-art-deco-painter/
3. Meibohm Fine Arts Staff. Alexander Oscar Levy [internet]. Aurora, NY: Meibohm Fine Arts; 2019 [cited 2019 Dec 5]. Available from: https://www.meibohmfinearts.com/artists/details/18
4. Burchfield Penney Art Center Staff. Alexander O. Levy: American Artist, Art Deco Painter [internet]. Buffalo, NY: Burchfield Penney Art Center; 2014 [cited 2019 Dec 5]. Available from: https://www.burchfieldpenney.org/exhibitions/exhibition:11-14-2014-03-29-2015-alexander-o-levy-american-artist-art-deco-painter/
5. Askart Staff. Alexander Oscar Levy [internet]. [cited 2019 Dec 5]. Available from: https://www.askart.com/artist_bio/Alexander_Oscar_Levy/29267/Alexander_Oscar_Levy.aspx