Dana E. Levin
Encyclopedia
Dana Levin is an American Classical Realism
painter. Trained in Florence, Levin is established as a portrait
, landscape
, still life, figurative
, and interior painter.
. She graduated from the prestigious Miami highschool New World School of the Arts
, and in 1990 graduated early with a Bachelor of Fine Arts
degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
She moved to Italy to train under Classical Realism
maestro Daniel Graves at the Florence Academy of Art. For three years she learned the techniques of European masters, and upon graduating joined the faculty to teach drawing
and oil painting
. She stayed at the academy for eight years. In 2005 she founded The New School of Classical Art (NSCA) in Providence, Rhode Island
.
In search of subjects for her paintings, Levin's travels have taken her throughout the United States, Europe, the Middle East and South America.Her work is in the permanent collection of the Everson Museum of Art
in Syracuse, New York
and The New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, Connecticut
. She's been featured in Who's Who in American Art
. She is represented by Eleanor Ettinger Gallery in New York City, the Bert Gallery in Providence, Rhode Island, and Principle Gallery in Alexandria, Virginia. She has professional relationships with John Pence Gallery in San Francisco and Saks Galleries in Colorado.
and representational
painting tradition. However, she works in a range of genres and takes commissions for portraits and still life paintings. She works in still life
, portrait painting
, interiors, florals, and figure painting
utilizing oil paint
, charcoals, and graphite pencil
s.
For inspiration, Levin has cited Rembrandt, Jean-François Millet
, Jean-Jacques Henner
, Pieter Bruegel, Ilya Yefimovich Repin, Valentin Serov
, Henri Fantin-Latour
, and Johannes Vermeer
. She has stated that the symbolism she uses and the emotional impact she strives for is in part inspired by the writings of Carl Jung
, the story the Epic of Gilgamesh
, and especially the poetry of thirteenth century Jelaluddin Rumi.
2001
2002
2006
2007
2008
2009
Classical Realism
For Classical Realism in International Relations, see Realism Classical Realism refers to an artistic movement in late 20th century painting that places a high value upon skill and beauty, combining elements of 19th century neoclassicism and realism.-Origins:The term "Classical Realism" first...
painter. Trained in Florence, Levin is established as a portrait
Portrait
thumb|250px|right|Portrait of [[Thomas Jefferson]] by [[Rembrandt Peale]], 1805. [[New-York Historical Society]].A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness,...
, landscape
Landscape art
Landscape art is a term that covers the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, and especially art where the main subject is a wide view, with its elements arranged into a coherent composition. In other works landscape backgrounds for figures can still...
, still life, figurative
Figurative art
Figurative art, sometimes written as figurativism, describes artwork—particularly paintings and sculptures—which are clearly derived from real object sources, and are therefore by definition representational.-Definition:...
, and interior painter.
Life and work
Levin was born in Alexandria, Virginia, in 1969, and soon moved with her family to Miami, Florida. By the age of 11 she wanted to be a painter, and at the age of 14 she attended the fine arts summer program Belvoir Terrace in Lenox, MassachusettsLenox, Massachusetts
Lenox is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. Set in Western Massachusetts, it is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 5,077 at the 2000 census. Where the town has a border with Stockbridge is the site of Tanglewood, summer...
. She graduated from the prestigious Miami highschool New World School of the Arts
New World School of the Arts
New World School of the Arts is a public magnet high school and college in Downtown Miami, Florida with dual-enrollment programs in visual arts, dance, theatre, musical theatre, instrumental music, and vocal music. Both the college and the high school are accredited by the Southern Association of...
, and in 1990 graduated early with a Bachelor of Fine Arts
Bachelor of Fine Arts
In the United States and Canada, the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, usually abbreviated BFA, is the standard undergraduate degree for students seeking a professional education in the visual or performing arts. In some countries such a degree is called a Bachelor of Creative Arts or BCA...
degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
She moved to Italy to train under Classical Realism
Classical Realism
For Classical Realism in International Relations, see Realism Classical Realism refers to an artistic movement in late 20th century painting that places a high value upon skill and beauty, combining elements of 19th century neoclassicism and realism.-Origins:The term "Classical Realism" first...
maestro Daniel Graves at the Florence Academy of Art. For three years she learned the techniques of European masters, and upon graduating joined the faculty to teach drawing
Drawing
Drawing is a form of visual art that makes use of any number of drawing instruments to mark a two-dimensional medium. Common instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, inked brushes, wax color pencils, crayons, charcoal, chalk, pastels, markers, styluses, and various metals .An artist who...
and oil painting
Oil painting
Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments that are bound with a medium of drying oil—especially in early modern Europe, linseed oil. Often an oil such as linseed was boiled with a resin such as pine resin or even frankincense; these were called 'varnishes' and were prized for their body...
. She stayed at the academy for eight years. In 2005 she founded The New School of Classical Art (NSCA) in Providence, Rhode Island
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
.
In search of subjects for her paintings, Levin's travels have taken her throughout the United States, Europe, the Middle East and South America.Her work is in the permanent collection of the Everson Museum of Art
Everson Museum of Art
The Everson Museum of Art in Downtown Syracuse, New York is a major Central New York museum focusing on American art.-History:The museum was founded in 1897 by art historian George Fisk Comfort ; at that time, it was called the Syracuse Museum of Fine Arts...
in Syracuse, New York
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
and The New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, Connecticut
New Britain, Connecticut
New Britain is a city in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It is located approximately 9 miles southwest of Hartford. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 71,254....
. She's been featured in Who's Who in American Art
Who's Who in American Art
Who's Who in American Art is a biographical hardcover directory of noteworthy individuals in the visual arts community in the United States, published by Marquis Who's Who, formerly by R.R. Bowker Publishing. The directory has also listed some individuals from Canada and Mexico, plus some American...
. She is represented by Eleanor Ettinger Gallery in New York City, the Bert Gallery in Providence, Rhode Island, and Principle Gallery in Alexandria, Virginia. She has professional relationships with John Pence Gallery in San Francisco and Saks Galleries in Colorado.
Style
Levin's works are mainly in the revival of the Classical RealismClassical Realism
For Classical Realism in International Relations, see Realism Classical Realism refers to an artistic movement in late 20th century painting that places a high value upon skill and beauty, combining elements of 19th century neoclassicism and realism.-Origins:The term "Classical Realism" first...
and representational
Representation (arts)
Representation is the use of signs that stand in for and take the place of something else. It is through representation that people organize the world and reality through the act of naming its elements...
painting tradition. However, she works in a range of genres and takes commissions for portraits and still life paintings. She works in still life
Still life
A still life is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which may be either natural or man-made...
, portrait painting
Portrait painting
Portrait painting is a genre in painting, where the intent is to depict the visual appearance of the subject. Beside human beings, animals, pets and even inanimate objects can be chosen as the subject for a portrait...
, interiors, florals, and figure painting
Figure painting
Figure painting is a form of the visual arts in which the artist uses a live model as the subject of a two-dimensional piece of artwork using paint as the medium. The live model can be either nude or partly or fully clothed and the painting is a representation of the full body of the model...
utilizing oil paint
Oil paint
Oil paint is a type of slow-drying paint that consists of particles of pigment suspended in a drying oil, commonly linseed oil. The viscosity of the paint may be modified by the addition of a solvent such as turpentine or white spirit, and varnish may be added to increase the glossiness of the...
, charcoals, and graphite pencil
Pencil
A pencil is a writing implement or art medium usually constructed of a narrow, solid pigment core inside a protective casing. The case prevents the core from breaking, and also from marking the user’s hand during use....
s.
For inspiration, Levin has cited Rembrandt, Jean-François Millet
Jean-François Millet
Jean-François Millet was a French painter and one of the founders of the Barbizon school in rural France...
, Jean-Jacques Henner
Jean-Jacques Henner
Jean-Jacques Henner was a French painter, noted for his use of sfumato and chiaroscuro in painting nudes, religious subjects, and portraits....
, Pieter Bruegel, Ilya Yefimovich Repin, Valentin Serov
Valentin Serov
Valentin Alexandrovich Serov was a Russian painter, and one of the premier portrait artists of his era.-Youth and education:...
, Henri Fantin-Latour
Henri Fantin-Latour
Henri Fantin-Latour was a French painter and lithographer best known for his flower paintings and group portraits of Parisian artists and writers.-Biography:...
, and Johannes Vermeer
Johannes Vermeer
Johannes, Jan or Johan Vermeer was a Dutch painter who specialized in exquisite, domestic interior scenes of middle class life. Vermeer was a moderately successful provincial genre painter in his lifetime...
. She has stated that the symbolism she uses and the emotional impact she strives for is in part inspired by the writings of Carl Jung
Carl Jung
Carl Gustav Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist and the founder of Analytical Psychology. Jung is considered the first modern psychiatrist to view the human psyche as "by nature religious" and make it the focus of exploration. Jung is one of the best known researchers in the field of dream analysis and...
, the story the Epic of Gilgamesh
Epic of Gilgamesh
Epic of Gilgamesh is an epic poem from Mesopotamia and is among the earliest known works of literature. Scholars believe that it originated as a series of Sumerian legends and poems about the protagonist of the story, Gilgamesh king of Uruk, which were fashioned into a longer Akkadian epic much...
, and especially the poetry of thirteenth century Jelaluddin Rumi.
Professional organizations
- American Artist Professional League - Fellow
- Copley Society of ArtCopley Society of ArtThe Copley Society of art is America's oldest non-profit art association. It was founded in 1879 by the first graduating class of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts and continues to play an important role in promoting its member artists and the visual arts in Boston...
- Susan K. Black Foundation
- Oil Painters of America
- The International Society of Realist Painters
Awards and honors
1996- Merit Award – Italian Cultural Institute of San Francisco
2001
- Art Renewal Center International Scholarship Competition
2002
- John F. and Anna Lee Stacey Fund
- Art Renewal Center International Scholarship Competition
2006
- Katharine A. Lovell Memorial Award – Catharine Lorillard WolfeCatharine Lorillard WolfeCatharine Lorillard Wolfe was an American philanthropist and art collector. Though she gave large amounts of money to institutions such as Grace Episcopal Church and Union College, her most significant gifts were two bequests to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City...
Art Club - Finalist in four categories – 23rd Annual Artist's Magazine
2007
- First Place, "24th Annual Showcase Portrait Category" – The Artist's Magazine
- Finalist, International Art Renewal Center Salon
- Ridgewood Art Association Award, Excellence in Art – American Artist Professional League
2008
- Raymond Chow Memorial Award – American Artist Professional League
- First Place, "39th Annual Juried Exhibition" – New Britain Museum of American Art
- Finalist, International Art Renewal Center Salon
- Finalist, 25th Annual Artist's Magazine
- Living Artist, Art Renewal Center
2009
- Finalist, "People and Figures" Competition – International Artist Magazine
- Dianne Rudy Memorial Award – American Artists Professional League for "Heaven"
- Fellow Status - American Artist Professional League
Selected works
- Portrait of a Young Man (2007) – won portrait category of The Artist's Magazine, 2008 cover of Who's Who Visual Art 100 Artists, U.S. Edition
- Orchids and Apples (2007) – featured in 2008 edition of Who's Who in Visual Art 100 Artists
- Silent Still Life (2006) – featured on cover of 2008 German edition of Who's Who in Visual Art 100 Artists
External links
- Official blog
- Dana Levin Art at slideshare.net
- Dana Levin on LinkedInLinkedInLinkedIn is a business-related social networking site. Founded in December 2002 and launched in May 2003, it is mainly used for professional networking. , LinkedIn reports more than 120 million registered users in more than 200 countries and territories. The site is available in English, French,...
- Dana Levin at Florence Academy of Art
- Bert Gallery Interview Video
- The Painter's Keys Biography
- Artquotes.net interview
- Providence Journal biography
- The Artists Magazine 2007 Portrait Category
- Levin at Hirsch and Adler Galleries in NYC
- Dana at Eleanor Ettinger Galleries
- Art Quotations by Dana Levin
- Dana Levin on Youtube 1
- Dana Levin on Youtube 2