Israel Levitan
| Israel Levitan | |
|---|---|
| Born |
June 13, 1912 Lawrence, Massachusetts |
| Died | May 17, 1982 (aged 69) |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Chicago Art Institute |
| Known for | sculpture, painting |
| Movement | Abstract Expressionism |
Israel Levitan (June 13, 1912 – May 17, 1982) was an American abstract expressionist sculptor, born in Lawrence, Massachusetts. Renowned as a sculptor, Levitan also produced paintings, graphics and fine art works on paper.
The art critics of ARTnews selected his 1959 exhibition at the Barone Gallery in New York City, as one of the 10 best one-man exhibitions of the year along with Pablo Picasso, Hans Hofmann and Willem de Kooning. After World War II Levitan was involved in the New York art community, and participated in numerous exhibitions.
Levitan left home at an early age to travel around the United States, Canada and Mexico. During his travels he lived for a time with Montana's Blackfoot Native Americans. In 1934 Levitan settled in Detroit, Michigan where he took a job as an auto worker. While living in Detroit, Levitan became interested in boxing and with union sponsorship, became Michigan State Amateur Welterweight Boxing Champion under the pseudonym Jack Myers.
In 1939 after a successful career in boxing, Levitan began to study art at the Chicago Art Institute, but his studies were interrupted by World War II. He joined the service as a medical corpsman in the South Pacific and became interested in physical thereapy. After the war, Levitan moved to New York. He first studied with Amedee Ozenfant. Over the next three years, he studied with abstract expressionist painter Hans Hofmann where he met his wife, Idee, a painter and designer.
Hofmann, recognizing the three-dimensional aspects of Levitan’s paintings, suggested that Levitan experiment with sculpture. Hoffman set out to find an appropriate teacher for his protégée and shortly thereafter Levitan commenced sculpture studies at the of the French master Ossip Zadkine in Paris from 1950-51.
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