In 1909 at the age of 28, A.O.L. together with his wife, Mayme (who he had married in 1904) moved to Buffalo, which was then experiencing enormous growth and was considered to be one of the most successful industrial cities in the country. He took a position at Matthews-Northrup as a commercial artist. A.O.L. was not content, however, to confine himself to a job. He continued to do outside illustrating for other companies, as well as developing his talents and reputation as a fine art painter. Key to his rise in the fine art world was his joining in 1910 the Buffalo Society of Artists. Founded in 1891, the organization, still alive and well today, has always attracted very fine artists from Western New York. It was then closely aligned with the Buffalo Fine Arts Academy (established in 1862, it is the entity which operates the Albright-Knox Art Gallery).
By 1910 A.O.L.'s talents resulted in his being commissioned to design the seal for the Buffalo Chamber of Commerce. He was also doing illustrations for prestigious publications, such as the Saturday Evening Post.
With such credentials, A.O.L. seemed destined in those heady days to become an employee, in 1913, of the extraordinarily creative and successful
Larkin Soap Co. (L.S.C.). As its art director, Levy was responsible for the enormous volume of illustrations needed for posters, advertising cards, catalog covers, publications such as "The Larkin Idea" and "Ourselves," flyers and brochures, calendars, etc.
Because most all of L.S.C.'s business records were lost years ago, we lack specific information on such things as salary, memos between him and his employers and fellow members of the corporate "family." But there are clues, A.O.L. signed much of his work, often with his initials and usually with an elegant flourish suggestive of Art Nouveau style.
Catalog covers reflected the style that he also exhibited in his fine art painting, i.e. Art Deco. His was characterized by a palette of soft color, idealized men and women and a compelling design that directed one's attention even deeper into the picture. Dimension is subtly distorted with the use of color and detail to move one's focus into and around the image. Does anybody collect Sears catalogs? Boring! Larkin catalogs and other of the pieces of Levy's work for the company continue to be prized and sought after objects for collectors.
Levy participated in other company activities as well. Daniel Larkin, J.D.L., Sr.'s biographer and grandson describes an elaborate pageant staged in 1916 in Delaware Park by the L.S.C. which was named "The New Vision: A Masque of Modern Industry." Lyrics and music were created for the event, the theme of which was the triumph of Imagination over the forces of Ignorance in industry. It necessitated a 60 piece orchestra. The pageant was for the enjoyment of L.S.C. employees, their families and friends and 500 of the most successful Larkin sales secretaries around the country who were brought to Buffalo by the company to receive their awards. The performance portrayed Imagination overpowering and banishing Ignorance in industry. The complex story line involved over 500 cast members. The audience was several thousand.
The costumes were designed by A.O.L. Those to be worn by the principal actors were made in NYC and picked up there by A.O.L. The hundreds of other costumes for the dancers and other performers were made locally but supervised by A.O.L. The pageant had concluded with a parade of the Products representing 22 countries from which ingredients were purchased to be included in the making of Larkin products. To create an international aura for the products was, as Daniel Larkin says, a particular challenge. "Everyone pitched in to beg, borrow or create the various ethnic garments required. Alex Levy personally supervised the dyeing of the costumes that [the company's] Underwear Department created for the dancers using sample dyes that had accumulated over the years in the Research Laboratory."
A.O.L. participated in a major way for the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the L.S.C., in 1925. The Catalog issued as the 50th Anniversary edition bore the symbol of the celebration, a Spanish galleon, its sails silhouetted against a gold gilt sky.
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Fifty Golden Years
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(A.O.L.'s grandson Jonathan Levy, accompanied by his brother, Mick, generously presented our Larkin Gallery with the original painting used to create that cover.) Also, A.O.L. designed a lithographed book celebrating the company's success.
Perhaps the biggest challenge assigned to A.O.L. for the 50th anniversary celebration, was J.D.L.'s request that he paint a mural to be displayed on the fifth floor balcony wall in the Administration Building. Above it towered the gold pipes of the organ that J.D.L. had installed for the pleasure of his employees. The theme was to be 'music' which undoubtedly elicited in A.O.L. his life long passion for what for him had been, as a child, a 'fork in the road' decision between music and art.
The mural, titled "the Spirit of Music" is populated by mythical characters playing ancient instruments in a bucolic country setting complete with a shepherd and his herd of sheep in the background. On the left, an elderly couple intently observe and listen, while on the right, a young couple with their smiling son enjoy the music. A copy of the working study of the mural, provided by the Burchfield-Penney Art Center, hangs in our Gallery. Beneath are two pencil drawings by A.O.L. of two of the figures in the mural, furnished to the Gallery by collector, Gerald Mead.
Another of his accomplishments while employed at L.S.C. but independent of his job, was to design posters in 1918 supporting the U.S. troops and American Red Cross in W.W.I. See them in the exhibit currently at the Buffalo Central Public Library. One of his posters has just been hung in our gallery. He continued doing illustrations for publications and commercial entities. The Courier-Express Newspaper, on 8/5/23 commented that A.O.L. used the same model for a painting, "Womanhood Personified," as he had for advertisements for L.S.C.
Levy left the company in the late 1920's or early 1930's Since there are no business documents known to still exist, there is no letter of resignation nor termination letter to give us a date or reason for leaving. Albert Michaels, historian and serious art collector, suggests that Levy was bitter about his financial difficulties after leaving the L.S.C., which could lead one to the conclusion that the choice to leave was not his.
However, given his great creativity evidenced in the work he performed there, it is hard to believe that he was made to leave. He had been hired by J.D.L., Sr., a beloved employer who seemed to have that love reciprocated by his employees. After J.D.L., Sr. died in 1926, his son, J.D.L., Jr., became president of the company. He had become increasingly involved in the management of L.S.C. in the several years leading up to his father's death. It is clear that key players of the company lacked confidence in him. Anticipating J.D.L., Jr.'s rise in authority, William Heath had left the company in 1925. Darwin Martin left soon after his beloved employer's death. While A.O.L. stayed on a few more years, the work environment changed.
Jonathan Levy had not yet been born when Levy died in 1947, so what he knows is what has been passed down in his family - and that information does not include when or why A.O.L. left. But at the time he left, the man who was to become A.O.L.'s successor, Charles Rohrbach had already been working in the Art Department since 1928. His grandson, Rob Rohrbach, recently told me that his grandfather was found of A.O.L.; they seemed to get along fine. As a matter of fact, A.O.L. gave Charles a study for his painting, "Monkey Island" with the inscription on it, "To my friend, Charlie." Rob knew of no dissension between A.O.L. and management. And although the economic crash of 1929 was devastating to the country, including Buffalo, the L.S.C. though losing some income continued doing reasonable well for a few years. There is no hint that it downsized at that time.
Rob's sense of why Levy left was that he really wanted to immerse himself in painting and in his commercial work as a private illustrationist. Throughout his years of employment he had exhibited his paintings in many shows around the country and in Paris and London. He had become very active in B.S.A. where he enjoyed the stimulation of other artists. What he had not anticipated was the impact on the marketing of artwork which followed the crash. His bitterness might well have been his anger at himself for his poorly timed decision to give up a secure job.
What we do know clearly, was that in the next several years he was to be the eye of a tornado enveloping the Buffalo art scene. From 1933-1936 A.O.L. was president of the B.S.A., which then met and exhibited at the Albright Gallery. Two issues emerged for him. He wanted to see more space and attention given by the Albright to regional artists while the Albright had become increasingly interested in nationally and internationally known artists. (The result ultimately was the creating of the Burchfield Gallery by Buffalo State College to house and promote the work of Charles Burchfield, followed by the contribution by Charles Rand Penney, collector and philanthropist, of a large collection to the Burchfield Gallery inclusive more of that artist's work but also of other prominent regional artists, many of them B.S.A. members. As a result the gallery was renamed the Burchfield-Penney Art Center and is now housed in its beautiful building across the street from the Albright.
A.O.L. also took issue with the Albright, and with the B.S.A., about welcoming the "modern art" of such movements as cubism and abstraction. He was so vehement in his opposition to such art styles that a group of B.S.A. artists broke away to form a separate entity, the Patteran Society. B.S.A. lost its welcome at the Albright.
A.O.L. remained active in B.S.A., however. In 1935 he chaired a masked ball in Beaux Arts fashion to celebrate the Society's 40th anniversary. [The B.S.A. celebrated its 125th anniversary last year with another masked Beaux Art Ball, honoring A.O.L. with a display of his renowned painting, "Bal Masque," and the presence of Levy family members.
Not much is known of A.O.L.'s personal life. He had been married to Mayme Levy and they had one child, a son, Allan, who as a child lived with them at 41 Berkley Place, Buffalo. Allan had four sons including Jonathan and Mick, who were very helpful, providing information and paintings for the 2014-2015 exhibit at Burchfield-Penney Art Center's major exhibit of A.O.L.'s work, "Alexander O. Levy American Artist, Art Deco Painter," which was co-curated by Scott Propeack and Albert Michaels. The book by the same title published by the Burchfield Gallery contains a wealth of information from which I have drawn to write this article.
Mayme died on July 7, 1940 at which time A.O.L. purchased a six-plot set of graves at Forest Lawn Cemetery. He subsequently married Edna Minken, who Michaels tells me was a show girl. They had no children. Jon Levy told me that he understood from his father that A.O.L. and Edna were estranged at the time of A.O.L.'s death on 01/21/47 at age 65.
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Sharon Osgood
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However, Forest Lawn records include A.O.L.'s death certificate showing Edna as his wife at the time of A.O.L.'s death of a cerebral hemorrhage which occurred in his home, 41 Berkley Place. Edna continued to live there till her death on 10/23/75. The Lot Register reflects her interment in lot C of the plot and she is shown as his wife. A.O.L. had designed the granite headstone, including a beautiful engraving of a classical urn overflowing with lush ivy. Both wives' names as well as A.O.L.'s are reflected on the headstone. The other three graves remain empty.
It appears from what Jonathan Levy and Michaels have told me, that half the remaining art work went to Allan Levy and the rest remained at the Berkley Place house and in the garage/studio located there.
Edna went on to cohabit in the house with a Dr. McDonough, who apparently inherited the house and art from Edna upon her death. Since his death, Mr. Donough's nephew remains there. Much of the art became damaged in the leaky garage, but at some point before the Burchfield exhibit, what was left there was acquired by the Burchfield and restored as much as possible. Dr. McDonough did give some paintings to a house painter as payment for painting the house. After Michaels approached Dr. McDonough about purchasing some of the paintings, Dr. McDonough sent a letter to Allan Levy asking for his advice. Allan later told Michaels that he encouraged selling to Michaels as a strategy to boost A.O.L.'s reputation since he had become virtually unknown since A.O.L.'s death. Thereafter Michaels spent three hours negotiating with McDonough but was able to persuade him to sell only five paintings, which he did for a total of $500.
A.O.L.'s reputation did get a boost in 1975 when the U.S. government selected a 1930's painting, "Negro Spiritual" to be part of a travelling international show of American art. The Van Gogh Museum in the Netherlands subsequently bought it. The Everson Gallery in Syracuse held an exhibit in 1977 of works from Allan Levy's collection. It was not till 1982 that A.O.L. was recognized in his home city when Dana Tillou, prominent local art dealer, held an exhibit of pre-1930 work. But it was not till the B-P show in 2014-2015 that a major exhibit of A.O.L.'s paintings was staged. At the same time, the Benjamin Gallery on Elmwood, held an exhibit entitled "Alexander Levy: An Exploration of Influence," which included works by Burchfield and East Aurora's Alexis Fournier, among others.
A.O.L. is now, hopefully, a permanent fixture in the art world as well as in the history of L.S.C.
[Information for this article is attributed to the books referred to herein and also "Buffalo Society of Artists - A Brief History" by Albert Michaels, "The Catalog of the Buffalo Society of Artists, 100th Annual Juried Exhibition held at B-P, 1996; author Russell Ram and Charles Rand Penney; article by Charles E. Roth of Meibohm Fine Arts, Inc. "Featured Artist: A.O.L.," "Wayward Muse," published to commemorate the 125th year anniversary of Albright-Knox Gallery; Archives of Forest Lawn Cemetery; "On View: A.O.L., an American Realist in Buffalo," in Buffalo Spree, 11/14, by Bruce Adams and conversations with Jonathan Levy, Robert Rohrbach, Albert Michaels and Russell Ram]
