chapter 305 B

2/15/2015

Burchfield Penny

Alex Levy Exhibition

It's good to have beauty. Striking and capturing the mood of the 1920's. Words are just inadequate to convey the emotion of this painting. I guess it's best to just feel it. This is one of Alex Levy's paintings, "The Debutante", taken with iPhone by Grandson that I edited a bit in photoshop to correct for distortion and color balance. 

Grandchildren of Alex, right to left Jim, George, George's wife Terra and Ben Levy. A few weeks ago George stopped by from Nebraska to visit Jim in Clifton Park so we all got together since we were high school friends from Virgil. They spoke of their upcoming trip to this Buffalo gallery honoring their grandfather. My Mom, the Schmidts and the Knochenhauers all grew up in that town during the elder Levy's time there.

George's son (also Alex) created this ongoing blog to also honor his Great Grandfather.

I chose to display these two portraits that were the most appealing to me. This one has a more saucy attitude to it. Alex's work is prodigious (a word I remember my Grandfather teaching me when he'd quiz me from the Reader's Digest monthly, also worked with me in charcoals, watercolors, pastels and oils). 

Just one more image from the exhibit (of a hundred works ?) which presumably is an old (albumen?) photo. It depicts Alex's studio at 41 Berkley Place in Buffalo. Notice the Princess Isabella bust , the very one I came across and photographed a couple years back. Now I really feel connected to this accomplished artist in piecing together the story. My guess is he admired the bust for the beauty but also used it as a model in some of his portraits. 

The lion head figures on the arms of the chair on the left speak to me. That chair is still with their family. Grandma had a chair with arms somewhat similar. But they were more like smooth grooves. Seems like there were some black lion heads somewhere, maybe as feet to some table in the piano room? Anyway her chair was fully upholstered and not like the fancy carved wood pattern here.

Took a while to discern the painting. Seems to be a naked guy bending over kissing a baby in sitting mother's arms. Madonna with child theme.

Not sure about the two old free standing lighting fixtures seem to be more likely for candles than electric light fixtures?

This connection between art and photography is a subject of interest to me. Saw the 19th Century English landscape painter movie "Mr. Turner" this week. Very well done but definitely not for mass market appeal. Especially enjoyed the artist's curiosity with the beginning of daguerreotype photography at the Mayall Studio.

Beauty is where you find it. The most beautiful woman in the world, it was said at one time. Mona Lisa study? Or in an upstate NY basement among the pine cones etc. Who knows what other stories are on that table?

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