Usage conditions may apply for digital images, video, and sound recordings linked within SOVA collections. While digital content may be restricted, SOVA collection descriptions and catalog records are available CC0 for re-use. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.
Archives of American Art
Alfred Levitt papers
Summary
- Collection ID:
- AAA.levialfr
- Creators:
-
Levitt, Alfred H. (Alfred Hofmann), 1894-2000
- Dates:
-
1920-1984
- Languages:
-
Approximately half of the printed material and twenty percent of the correspondence is in French.
- Physical Description:
-
0.8 Linear feet(on 2 microfilm reels)
- Repository:
Scope and Contents
Scope and Contents
Correspondence, 1920-1984; biographical material, business records, 1951-1959, includes receipts for watercolors exhibited at New York museums and galleries, and a project proposal for a series of lectures on cave art; writings, ca. 1917-1971, includes poems by Levitt, two proposals for a Greenwich Village Cultural Center, an article for a new art magazine, and an article about Levitt by George Dorgan; scrapbooks [unbound], undated and 1943-1975; printed material, including brochures concerning Levitt's political activities; photographs including portraits of Levitt and views of his studio, 1926, some of his paintings, 1937-1960; and the School of Modern Painting of the Provence, 1960; in which Levitt was active.
Scope and Contents
Correspondence is concentrated between 1945-1967 and includes statements of Levitt's philosophies and opinions on art and related matters; business letters, some pertaining to artists' associations on Cape Ann, Mass.; correspondence with museums; letters which reveal Levitt's efforts to gain recogition in the 1950s; also letters or notes from Marcel Duchamp, Ralph Pearson, G.L.K. Morris, George Biddle, and Ilya Bolotowsky; and letters discussing Levitt's interest in prehistoric art.
Biographical / Historical
Biographical / Historical
Cubist painter and photographer, New York, N.Y. Began his formal art training at the Art Students League, continued at the Academie Grand Chaumiere, France, and with Hans Hofmann. Metropolitan Museum owns twenty of his paintings. Founded the School of Modern Painting of Provence in St. Remy in 1960, where he was director and instructor until 1962. Levitt also developed an interest in prehistory and eventually became an expert in the field, winning an award from the French government for his studies of Stone Age cave art. Except for a few years in France and Spain, Levitt lived all of his life in New York. Studied at the Ferrer Art School. Died May 25, 2000, at age 105.
Administration
Existence and Location of Copies
35mm microfilm reels 4058-4059 available at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated 1985 by Alfred Levitt.
Using the Collection
Conditions Governing Access
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Keywords
Archives of American Art
750 9th Street, NW
Victor Building, Suite 2200
Washington, D.C. 20001
https://www.aaa.si.edu/services/questions