American artist, designer, illustrator, author and educator
Herschel "Harry" Levit (May 29, 1912 – June 1, 1986) was an American
social realist artist, designer, illustrator, author, and educator. In the 1930s and 1940s, he was active in the
Federal Art Project sponsored by the
Works Progress Administration (WPA). He was a
Professor emeritus at
Pratt Institute , teaching from 1947 to 1977 and teaching at
Parsons School of Design , from 1977 to 1986.
[1]
Biography
Herschel Levit was born in
Philadelphia ,
Pennsylvania on May 29, 1912, to parents Annie and Isadore Levit.
[2]
[3] His father Isadore had immigrated from Russia.
[3] In 1922, his family moved to the town of
Shenandoah, Pennsylvania .
[2] He studied at the
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (from 1934 to 1936).
[4] In 1939, he was married to Janice (née Hackenburg), and they had a daughter.
[5]
[6]
[7]
During the 1930s and 1940s, he worked in
lithography and as a muralist for the
Federal Art Project sponsored by the
Works Progress Administration (WPA) in Philadelphia.
[8]
[9]
[10]
Levit taught abstract design and advertising design courses at Pratt Institute,
[4] from 1947 until 1977. After his retirement from Pratt he started teaching photography courses at Parsons School of Design from 1977 until 1986.
[1] Levit's students included Steve Frankfurt,
Bob Giraldi ,
George Lois ,
Sheila Metzner , Steve Horn, Stan Richards, and Len Sirowitz.
[11]
Levit's work is included in many public museum collections including the
National Gallery of Art ,
[12] the
Whitney Museum of American Art ,
[13]
[14] the
Metropolitan Museum of Art ,
[15]
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts ,
[16] and others. His work was included in the exhibition, Modern Art in Your Life (1949) at the
Museum of Modern Art in New York City, New York.
Murals
Crispus Attucks (1943) mural by Herschel Levit, in Washington, D.C.
William Penn's treaty (1940) mural at
William Rowen School , Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
[17]
[18]
General Washington's Troops on Old York Road (1942)
tempera mural at the post office,
Jenkintown ,
Pennsylvania ,
[2] (moved to a new location).
Crispus Attucks (1943), mural at the
Recorder of Deeds building, 515 D St., NW, Washington, D.C.
[19]
Farn and Mill (1941), mural at the post office in
Louisville ,
Ohio ,
[20]
[21] (moved to a new location).
Publications
As illustrator
Phillips, Alexander M. (1947).
The Mislaid Charm . Herschel Levit (Illustrator). Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The Prime Press.
OCLC
1132507 .
Mann, John Harvey (1966). Louis Pasteur, The Germ Killer . Herschel Levit (Illustrator). New York City, New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
OCLC
2455517 .
Schiller, Barbara (1971). The Wandering Knight . Herschel Levit (Illustrator). Dutton Books.
ISBN
9780525422006 .
As author
References
^
a
b
"Herschel Levit" . ADC Global Network . Retrieved 2021-03-28 .
^
a
b
c
"Great Mural By Former Town Man" . Newspapers.com . Republican and Herald. 11 November 1942. Retrieved 2021-03-28 .
^
a
b
"Isadore Levit" . Republican and Herald . 1940-10-17. p. 4. Retrieved 2021-03-28 .
^
a
b
"Receives Promotion At Pratt Institute" . Newspapers.com . Republican and Herald. 23 April 1954. p. 7. Retrieved 2021-03-28 .
^
"Lecture on Hebrew Manuscripts" . Newspapers.com . The Herald-News. 23 March 1979. p. 16. Retrieved 2021-03-28 .
^ Bernstein, Leonard (2013-10-29).
The Leonard Bernstein Letters . Yale University Press. p. 264.
ISBN
978-0-300-18654-3 .
^
"Marriage Set By Lois Levit" . Times Machine .
The New York Times . March 2, 1969. p. 73. Retrieved 2021-03-28 .
^ Langa, Helen (2004-03-25).
Radical Art: Printmaking and the Left in 1930s New York . University of California Press. p. 230.
ISBN
978-0-520-23155-9 .
^ Francey, Mary (1988).
Depression Printmakers as Workers: Re-defining Traditional Interpretations (exhibition).
Boise Art Museum ,
Utah Museum of Fine Arts . Utah Museum of Fine Arts, University of Utah.
^ Shaw, Michael (25 December 1938).
"Exhibitions and Studio Chips" . Newspapers.com . The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 28. Retrieved 2021-03-28 .
^ Marinese, Jaclyn (2004-09-21).
"Inspiring professor who promoted the love of art" . amNY . Retrieved 2021-03-28 .
^
"Herschel Levit" . National Gallery of Art (NGA) . Retrieved 2021-03-28 .
^ Cascone, Sarah (2015-04-13).
"Whitney Names 407 Artists for Inaugural Show" . Artnet News . Retrieved 2021-03-28 .
^
"Herschel Levit" . Whitney Museum of American Art . Retrieved 2021-03-28 .
^
"Take It Away! (1945)" . The Metropolitan Museum of Art . Retrieved 2021-03-28 .
^
"Herschel Levit, "Portrait of Marian Anderson" (ca. 1963)" . PAFA - Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts . 2014-12-28. Retrieved 2021-03-28 .
^
Who's Who in American Art: A Biographical Directory . R. R. Bowker. 1973. p. 445.
ISBN
978-0-8352-0611-2 .
^
"Mural Dedicated At Rowen School" . The Philadelphia Inquirer . 1940-10-23. p. 13. Retrieved 2021-03-28 .
^ Newman, Paul L. (June 28, 2018).
"Recorder of Deeds Building: Levit Mural - Washington, D.C." Living New Deal . Retrieved 2021-03-28 .
^ Park, Marlene; Markowitz, Gerald E. (1984).
Democratic Vistas: Post Offices and Public Art in the New Deal . Temple University Press. p. 58.
ISBN
978-0-87722-348-1 .
^
Timeline: A Publication of the Ohio Historical Society . The Society. 1989. p. 12.
Further reading
Goldwater, Robert (1949).
Modern Art in Your Life (exhibition). Museum of Modern Art Bulletin. Vol. 17.
Paul Rand (Cover design). New York City, New York: Museum of Modern Art.
External links
International National Academics Artists Other