You probably know his works from the New York Review of Books where his black and white drawings were featured since 1963 bringing dark humor and beauty to writings about political and literary figures. See untold numbers of his caricatures at the New York Review’s online gallery. What I didn’t know, and learned from this obit in the NY Times, is that Levine was a Temple and Tyler School of Art grad, with degrees in education and art.
David Levine, 1966. Portrait of Lyndon Johnson showing his gallbladder surgery scar (which he did famously). Levine here changes the scar into a drawing of the country of Vietnam (1966 was a big war year)
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I have always loved and admired David Levine’s work, and so I was especially excited by a chance meet-up with him and his wife last spring in a restaurant in Brooklyn Heights. They squeezed in next to me and a friend, and we ended up chatting for quite a long time. He was as gracious a person as he was a talented caricaturist. I am a graduate of Tyler, and so I was especially interested in his experiences there (previously I had no idea he had attended). However, his memories of Temple/Tyler were not all wonderful. He seemed to appreciate his education there but pointed out that he was denied entry into the graduate program solely because of his communist background. Tyler may offer a different account, but David was adamant about this being the reason for his rejection. Needless to say, this was a disappointing thing to hear about my alma mater. I asked him if Tyler had ever issued some form of an apology; he said no. Clearly Tyler has every reason to be proud of its famous alum, but I just felt that the full story should be told.
Steven, thanks for sharing that story–I don’t want to believe the Tyler charge but times were different back then and paranoia was high about communism at colleges and universities, so it is believable… although I can’t believe there is a paper trail to prove it. You were fortunate to meet the man. He’s long been an idol of mine.
For me DL was perhaps more than an idol. Not only was I a regular reader of the NY Review of Books, but in a former life (mid to late twenties) I was a free-lance illustrator and he was without question my biggest influence. Thus, when I actually met him it took a lot of self control not to devolve into embarrassing, fan-like adoration (although I certainly told him of his influence on me). As for the Tyler issue, I too am aware of the Macarthy blacklist era (despite my diaper-wearing status at that time), but I was shocked to hear that its machinations filtered down even to art schools.
Me too, Steven. For a couple years I began doing my own political caricatures which I put on calendars and sold (er, gave away, mostly). Trying to emulate his style of drawing, I understood how good he was. His line was virtuosic, his cross-hatching definition of facial planes and shadows was stellar and his insights into politics and personalities was the best. I wish I could have met him. You were fortunate (and I bet he loved meeting someone who was younger and was influenced by him).