Alexander Oscar Levy (German-American, 1881-1947) Western New York artist, painter, illustrator, printmaker and book designer. He was born on May 26, in Bonn, Germany to Julius and Regina (née Berger) Levy and at the age of three, was brought to America. He initially lived in Cincinnati, OH, and studied at the Cincinnati Art Academy, OH, with Frank Duveneck (American, 1848-1919). He later studied at the New York School of Fine And Applied Art with Ossip Leonovitch Linde (Russian-American 1871-1940), William Merritt Chase (American, 1849-1916) and Robert Henri (American, 1865-1929). In 1909, he moved to Buffalo, New York, where he worked as an illustrator, commercial artist, and painter until his death in 1947. While in Buffalo he also worked for thirteen years as the Art Director of the Larkin Company (AKA Larkin Soap Co.) and began designing the color covers to their catalogs and also designed the Company's 50th Anniversary booklet.
He was a member of the Buffalo Society of Artists, the Society for Sanity in Art, the Salmagundi Club, Salons of America and the Society of Independent Artists. Exhibitions included; the Cincinnati Art Museum with the Society of Independent Artists; Salons of America; the Buffalo Society of Artists (Prize); Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art; Albright Art Gallery (now the Albright-Knox Art Gallery); and annually at the Rundel Gallery. His works can be found in many private & public collections and many museums nationally to include; the Cincinnati Art Museum; Denver Art Museum; the Art Institute of Chicago; the Peabody Institute; the Detroit Institute of Art; the Toledo Museum of Art; the Brooklyn Museum; Temple Beth El, Buffalo, NY & Temple Beth El, Niagara Falls, NY; and St. Mary's Church, Batavia, NY.
Chronology:
1881- May 26, born in Bonn, Germany to Julius and Regina (née Berger) Levy.
Circa 1884- Immigrated to America at the age of three with his family.
From 1894-1900- Studied at the Cincinnati Art Academy, OH, with Frank Duveneck.
From 1902-03- Studied at the New York School of Fine And Applied Art, NYC with Ossip Leonovitch Linde (Russian-American 1871-1940), William Merritt Chase (American, 1849-1916) and Robert Henri (American, 1865-1929).
1909- Levy Moved to Buffalo, NY, worked as an illustrator, commercial artist & painter.
From 1913-1925- Levy was Art Director of the Larkin Company (AKA Larkin Soap Company), Buffalo, NY and began designing the color covers to their catalogs and did the Company's 50th Anniversary booklet. He was succeeded as Art Director in 1925 by his long-time assistant, fellow artist and friend Charles J. Rohrbach (Swiss-American, 1892-1967).
From 1920-23- Exhibited, Cincinnati Art Museum, OH, Society of Independent Artists, NYC.
From 1922-23- Exhibited, Salons of America, NYC.
1922-24- Exhibited, Buffalo Society of Artists (Prize), Buffalo, NY.
1925- Exhibited, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, Philadelphia, PA.
From 1925-28- Levy worked out of his own studio at 41 Berkeley Place, where he engaged in supplying work for many of the largest national advertisers and national ad agencies, while also exhibiting his artwork.
From 1925-46- Exhibited, Albright Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY.
1928- October, Levy accepted the new position of Art Director for the Addison Vars, Inc. advertising agency, Buffalo, NY.
1935- Exhibited, Buffalo Society of Artists, Buffalo, NY.
From 1937-38- Exhibited, Buffalo Society of Artists, Buffalo, NY.
1947- January 21, died of pneumonia and is buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery, Buffalo, NY.
2018- January 13-February 10, group show, "Original Originals": Vintage Drawings by WNY Artists, Meibohm Fine Arts, East Aurora, NY.
Exhibited Also At: Annually at the Rundel Gallery, Rochester, NY.
Memberships: Buffalo Society of Artists, Buffalo, NY; the Society for Sanity in Art, SC; the Salmagundi Club, NYC; Salons of America; and the Society of Independent Artists, NYC.
Works: Cincinnati Art Museum, OH; Denver Art Museum, CO; the Art Institute of Chicago, IL; the Peabody Institute, MD; the Detroit Institute of Art, MI; Toledo Museum of Art, OH; the Brooklyn Museum, NY; Temple Beth El, Buffalo, NY & Temple Beth El, Niagara Falls, NY; and St. Mary's Church, Batavia, NY.
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(Rewritten & compiled chronologically by Mark Strong of Meibohm Fine Arts, Inc., East Aurora, NY, meibohmfinearts.com, meibohmfinearts.com, sources: Too long to list here and are furnished upon request.)