Herschel Levit
Duet — Cellist and Pianist, 1930s Lithograph
c. 1937

About the Item

Herschel Levit 'Duet', lithograph, c. 1937. Signed in pencil. A fine, richly inked impression, on cream wove paper, with full margins (1 1/2 x 2 inches), in excellent condition. Matted to museum standards, unframed. ABOUT THE ARTIST Painter, printmaker, photographer, and teacher, Herschel Levit (1912-1986) was born in Pennsylvania. He studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and was a member of the Philadelphia Art Alliance, Philadelphia Print Club, and the Modern Etchers Group. Before graduating from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Levit became a Cresson European Fellow and later studied at the Barnes Foundation. In 1947 Alexey Brodovitch, the modern master of design and future ADC Hall of Famer, invited Levit to study at his legendary Design Laboratory. It was soon thereafter that Levit began his teaching career at Pratt Institute with the firm opinion that “the freedom to express oneself through experimentation is the rightful heritage of our artists, for without experimentation there can be no art; there can be no future.” A true Renaissance man, he believed in a working knowledge of all aesthetic and classical disciplines in order to be a successful designer. “You can’t influence people if you live in a vacuum,” Levit once remarked. His prolific professional design career closely paralleled his teaching career—he created designs and illustrations for album covers, children’s books, and print ads. Levit’s hallmark was his versatility. Throughout his career, Herschel Levit received recognition for his work in Graphis and various Art Directors Club Annuals. His many exhibitions include the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, 1934-36; the Art Institute of Chicago, 1934-35, 1938-39; the Philadelphia Arts and Crafts Association, 1938 (one-man); the Philadelphia Art Alliance, 1938, 1944-46; the Springfield Art Museum, 1938; the New School for Social Research, 1938; the Oklahoma Art Club, 1940; the Allied Artists of America, 1945, 1946; the Philadelphia Print Club, 1946; the Library of Congress, 1946; the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts Annual, 1953; and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, 1966-69. His drawings and paintings reside in the collections of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and The Israel Museum. As a crowning achievement to his three distinguished decades of teaching at Pratt, the School of Art & Design unanimously named him Professor Emeritus in 1977. A year later, Herschel Levit began teaching advanced photographic techniques at Parsons School of Design, a position he enjoyed up until his death in 1986 at the age of 74.

Creator:

Herschel Levit (1912 - 1986)

Creation Year:

c. 1937

Dimensions:

Height: 11.88 in (30.18 cm)Width: 9.13 in (23.2 cm)

Medium:

Lithograph

Movement & Style:

American Realist

Period:

1930-1939