Raised in Cincinnati, Levine studied English at Miami University, psychology and consumer behavior at the University of Denver, then spent a year at the Art Academy in Eden Park, and two years completing an MFA at the University of Cincinnati. He moved to New York in 1974 and “Ran out of money quick,” he recalls. To cover expenses, he took a job as a waiter at the Waldorf Astoria, where he waited on Andy Warhol, among other prominent diners. Months later, he wound up at the same dinner table as the Pop artist. Levine was amused at the capacity for path-crossing in Manhattan. “In the late 1970s, the New York art community really was quite small.”

Levine’s work has received recognition, having been shown in several exhibitions over the years, and has been collected by The Museum of Modern Art, The Whitney Museum, The Metropolitan Museum and the National Gallery in Washington.