Skip to main content

Levon West Art

American, 1900-1968
Levon West, who also used the name Ivan Dimitri, was born on February 3, 1900 in Centerville, North Dakota. The family changed their name to West when Levon and his brothers did not want to enlist in the service during WWI under their Armenian last name, Assadoorian. The name West was chosen as it was the maiden name of Levon's mother, who was related to the early American artist Benjamin West. Levon West adopted the pen name of Ivan Dmitri to use for his color photography. His etchings and watercolors were always done under his original name, Levon West. Levon West moved often as a boy, as his father preached in a series of North Dakota towns. West graduated from high school in Harvey, North Dakota as valedictorian and graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1924. He wanted to take almost entirely art courses but his father insisted that he major in business administration. West served in the U.S Navy during WWI. While in New York studying at the Art Students’ League and with etcher Joseph Pennell , he formed an aviation corporation with friends. They serviced planes at Roosevelt Field on Long Island. One day he noticed a different type of plane and did sketches of it. This plane belonged to Charles Lindberg. When West heard Lindberg flew the Spirit of St. Louis on a record breaking trans-Atlantic flight, he hurriedly did an etching from his sketches and took it to the New York Times. The paper asked how much he wanted for it and he said, “I don’t care how much I get for it, but put my name on it good and big at the bottom.” When the newspaper came out with his etching on the front page demand for his work followed. He was contacted by the Kennedy Galleries in New York the following day. This led to a series of successful etchings and national prominence. As Ivan Dmitri, he helped to gain acceptance for photography as an art medium, and established one of the first photography exhibits at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. Dmitri felt that such a move was necessary in order for the public to treat photography as art, rather than just something reserved smaller mediums like books, magazines, and newspapers. In 1959, Ivan Dmitri founded Photography in the Fine Arts. West was a member of the Society of American Etchers and the American Institute of Graphic Arts, and published at least two instructional books, including Making an Etching (1930). By the 1940s, his work was in the collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the New York Public Library, the Brooklyn Museum, the Havemeyer Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and many others. He was represented by Kennedy Gallery in New York City. Levon West / Ivan Dimitri died in New York City on April 25, 1968
to
4
5
1
Overall Width
to
Overall Height
to
6
1
5
5
5
1
5
3
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
5
2
2
1
1
6
10,218
2,810
2,500
1,398
6
Artist: Levon West
(HUNTERS WITH REFLECTIONS) -  RICH IMPRESSION
(HUNTERS WITH REFLECTIONS) -  RICH IMPRESSION

(HUNTERS WITH REFLECTIONS) - RICH IMPRESSION

By Levon West

Located in Santa Monica, CA

LEVON WEST (1900 - 1968) (Untitled) - HUNTERS with REFLECTIONS. ca 1925 Etching, signed and numbered 22, lower left. Plate, 13 1/2 x 10 1/2 inches. Sheet 15 3/4 x 11 3/4 inches. ...

Category

1920s American Impressionist Levon West Art

Materials

Etching

A CLEAN SHOT

Levon WestA CLEAN SHOT, c. 1930

$380Sale Price|20% Off

A CLEAN SHOT

By Levon West

Located in Santa Monica, CA

LEVON WEST (1900 – 1968) A CLEAN SHOT 1930 Etching and drypoint. Signed and numbered 26 in pencil.Signed and dated in the plate 1930. Image 10 5/8 x 13 ½ inches, sheet 12 x 18 inc...

Category

1930s Impressionist Levon West Art

Materials

Etching

Rainy Day / Fifth Avenue in New York
Rainy Day / Fifth Avenue in New York

Rainy Day / Fifth Avenue in New York

By Levon West

Located in New Orleans, LA

This is a rare New York image by Levon West. Levon West, who also used the name Ivan Dimitri, was born on February 3, 1900 in Centerville, North Dakota....

Category

1930s Levon West Art

Materials

Drypoint, Etching

CHANGING FLIES
CHANGING FLIES

CHANGING FLIES

By Levon West

Located in Santa Monica, CA

LEVON WEST (1900 – 1968) CHANGING FLIES c. 1930 Etching and drypoint, signed in pencil and no. 28. Image, 13 1/8 x 8 3/8 inches, sheet 17 1/4 x 11 5/8 full margins with deckle edge...

Category

1930s Impressionist Levon West Art

Materials

Etching

"The Retreat From Long Island" - 1932 Etching On Paper
"The Retreat From Long Island" - 1932 Etching On Paper

"The Retreat From Long Island" - 1932 Etching On Paper

By Levon West

Located in Soquel, CA

"The Retreat From Long Island" - 1932 Etching On Paper Black and white etching titled "The Retreat from Long Island" (from the portfolio ​“The Bicentennial Pageant of George Washing...

Category

1930s American Impressionist Levon West Art

Materials

Laid Paper, Etching

Untitled (Venice canal, man departing the gondola)
Untitled (Venice canal, man departing the gondola)

Untitled (Venice canal, man departing the gondola)

By Levon West

Located in Fairlawn, OH

Untitled (Venice canal, man departing the gondola) Drypoint, c. 1930-1931 Signed in pencil lower right (see photo) Annotated in the lower margin: "Just a souvenir made ___ Monclair L...

Category

1930s American Impressionist Levon West Art

Materials

Drypoint

Related Items
Tugs on the Hudson
Tugs on the Hudson

Tugs on the Hudson

By Charles Frederick William Mielatz

Located in Middletown, NY

Drypoint etching with engraving printed in black ink on Japanese mulberry paper, 4 1/2 x 3 3/8 inches (113 x 84 mm), full margins. In superb condition. A beautiful New York City river...

Category

Early 20th Century American Modern Levon West Art

Materials

Handmade Paper, Drypoint, Etching

Italian Boat at Sunrise
Italian Boat at Sunrise

Italian Boat at Sunrise

By Sidney Mackenzie Litten

Located in Middletown, NY

A nostalgic image of a bucolic farmyard and thatched cottage, hearkening to a bygone era. Etching with drypoint on laid watercolor paper, 9 7/8 x 11 3/4 inches, (251 x 229 mm), full...

Category

Early 20th Century English School Levon West Art

Materials

Handmade Paper, Etching, Drypoint

L'Avant-Foyer de l'Opera /// French Impressionist Etching Figurative Lady Man
L'Avant-Foyer de l'Opera /// French Impressionist Etching Figurative Lady Man

L'Avant-Foyer de l'Opera /// French Impressionist Etching Figurative Lady Man

By Tony Minartz

Located in Saint Augustine, FL

Artist: Tony Minartz (French, 1873-1944) Title: "L'Avant-Foyer de l'Opera" Portfolio: Revue de l'Art Ancien & Moderne *Issued unsigned Year: 1903 Medium: Original Etching on cream laid paper Limited edition: Unknown Printer: Unknown Publisher: Revue de l'Art Ancien & Moderne, Paris, France Framing: Recently framed in a traditional gold and black moulding with 100% cotton rag matting Framed size: 18.63" x 16.38" Sheet size: 12" x 9" Image size: 9" x 7.25" Condition: In excellent condition Notes: Printed in one color: bistre. This review was founded in 1897 in the continuity of the review Les Beaux-Arts published between 1861 and 1865; Jules Comte, the founder, entitled his first issue Les Beaux-Arts - Revue nouvelle then changed the title to La Revue de l'art ancien et moderne. Jules Comte directed the review until his death in 1912. Raymond Woog took over , who was provisional director until the start of the war in July 1914. In 1919, André Dezarrois took over this review and was its director until December 1937, date of last issue (published in January 1938). In the meantime, it publishes the Bulletin of ancient and modern art, which has gained a certain notoriety in the community. Biography: Tony Minartz, pseudonym of Antoine Guillaume, born 8 April 1873 to Cannes and died in that city on 13 December 1944 Is a painter, draftsman , illustrator and engraver French. Painter autodidact , Tony Minartz starts to become known in 1896 by exhibiting paintings at the Salon of the National Society of Fine Arts , and then decorates the Pompadour theater of painted panels for fashion shows " Grand Guignol ", directed by L. Darthenay. In 1903, Henri Béraldi , with whom he worked, praised him in The Journal of ancient and modern art, writing that "it was thirty years ago," and he has received advice from Paul Renouard to be formed the technique of etching ; Béraldi adds that his favorite subjects are "Paris at night Paris at night, always." Minartz also gives them some high-remarkable in The Journal of ancient and modern art until 1910: balls, cafe concerts, Parisian in their most beautiful dresses, but also music-halls, music halls, restaurants, large and small theaters, are the preferred settings of his compositions. Its fertile period seems to end in 1914. In addition to the National Salon, Minartz exhibited in Paris at the gallery Bartholomew (1903), the Independent Living (1905, 1906) and the gallery Devambez (1909) and received the Academic Palms . He occasionally collaborates with periodic illustrated as The Almanac Sports (Ollendorff, 1899), or satirical as Gil Blas...

Category

Early 1900s Impressionist Levon West Art

Materials

Etching, Laid Paper, Intaglio

Early 20th Century British Street Scene - 1920s Figurative Landscape Etching
Early 20th Century British Street Scene - 1920s Figurative Landscape Etching

Early 20th Century British Street Scene - 1920s Figurative Landscape Etching

By E. Mary Shelley

Located in Soquel, CA

Highly detailed figurative landscape lithograph of a street in London with a towering cathedral, old buildings, and figures walking the street below by E. Mary Shelley (English, late...

Category

1920s Impressionist Levon West Art

Materials

Paper, Etching

l'Entree du Port, Netherland
l'Entree du Port, Netherland

Heran Chabanl'Entree du Port, Netherland, 1930

$500

H 15 in W 18.25 in D 0.01 in

l'Entree du Port, Netherland

By Heran Chaban

Located in San Francisco, CA

This artwork "l'Entree du Port, Netherland" c. 1930 is an original color aquatint on wove paper by French/Armenian artist Heran Chaban, 1887-1939. It is h...

Category

Mid-20th Century Impressionist Levon West Art

Materials

Aquatint

Arch Beach, California
Arch Beach, California

Arch Beach, California

Located in San Francisco, CA

This artwork titled "Arch Beach, California" c.1910 is an original etching on Wove paper by American artist Harley DeWitt Nichols, 1859-1939. It is hand signed and titled in pencil by the artist. The plate mark (image) size is 6.5 x 9.5 inches, framed size is 13 x 17 inches. it is custom framed in a wooden silver frame, with off white matting. It is in excellent condition, especially considering the age. About the artist: Born in the small rural Wisconsin town of Barton, Harley lived a peripatetic life. As a young child, he accompanied his family to Lincoln, Nebraska where he found great excitement in the roaming herds of buffalo and Native Americans. It was in these years that a talent for drawing was discovered. In 1870, after several years of hardship, his father moved the family back to Wisconsin. At the age of 11 he became a water boy...

Category

Early 20th Century American Impressionist Levon West Art

Materials

Etching

Une Femme Assise by Lucien Pissarro - Etching
Une Femme Assise by Lucien Pissarro - Etching

Une Femme Assise by Lucien Pissarro - Etching

By Lucien Pissarro

Located in London, GB

Une Femme Assise by Lucien Pissarro (1863-1944) Etching 23 x 13 cm (9 x 5 ¹/₈ inches) Stamped lower right, L.P. and numbered lower left, 10/20 Provenance: John Bensusan Butt Private...

Category

1890s Impressionist Levon West Art

Materials

Etching

The Gate, Chelsea

The Gate, Chelsea

By Theodore Casimir Roussel

Located in New York, NY

Theodore Roussel (1847-1926), The Gate, Chelsea; etching and drypoint, 1889-1890, signed on the tab and inscribed imp [also signed in the plate lowere right]. Reference: Hausberg 33, fourth state (of 4), from the total printing of about 43 impressions. In excellent condition, trimmed by the artist all around on the plate mark except for the tab, 8 1/8 x 6 1/2 inches. A fine impression, printed on a light cream wove paper with plate tone (wiped to brighten the gate and doorway area) and substantial burr in the drypoint work. According to Hausberg, “The gate and house behind it still stand today at No. 4 Cheyne Walk...

Category

1880s Impressionist Levon West Art

Materials

Drypoint, Etching

The Mill, Amsterdam, 1889

The Mill, Amsterdam, 1889

By James Abbott McNeill Whistler

Located in New York, NY

James Whistler (1834-1903), The Mill, 1889, etching and drypoint, signed in pencil with the butterfly on the tab and inscribed “imp”, and inscribed “first state” (twice) and annotated “Wunderlich” and signed again with the butterfly verso. Reference: Kennedy 413, first state (of 5). Glasgow 457, second state (of 6; see discussion below) (cf. Margaret F. MacDonald, Grischka Petri, Meg Hausberg, and Joanna Meacock, James McNeill Whistler: The Etchings, a catalogue raisonné, University of Glasgow, 2011) On laid paper, in very good condition, trimmed just outside of the platemark all around except for the tab by the artist, 6 1/4 x 9 3/8 inches. A very fine impression of this great rarity, printed in black/brown ink with a slight veil of plate tone. provenance: H. Wunderlich & Co., New York Louis B. Dailey, New York (Lugt 4500) sale, Sotheby’s, New York, October 31, 2003, lot 69 literature; Neue Lagerliste 122: James McNeill Whistler – Etchings...

Category

1880s Impressionist Levon West Art

Materials

Drypoint, Etching

J.H. Woods’ Fruit Shop, Chelsea

J.H. Woods’ Fruit Shop, Chelsea

By James Abbott McNeill Whistler

Located in New York, NY

James Whistler (1834-1903), J.H. Woods’ Fruit Shop, Chelsea, etching and drypoint, 1887-88. Signed with the butterfly on the tab and annotated “imp,” also signed with the butterfly in pencil verso and numbered “1”. References: Kennedy 265 second state (of 2), Glasgow 327 second state (of 4). Trimmed by the artist around the plate mark except for the tab, in excellent condition. Printed in black ink on ivory laid paper, 3 3/4 x 5 1/8 inches. A fine impression of this great rarity; the print was never published. Glasgow accounts for four impressions. watermark: partial arms of Amsterdam(cf. Spink/Stratis/Tedeschi, watermark nos. 12ff.) This is before the third state in which heavy shading was added around the woman at the center, and the heads of figures at right and left of the figure are defined. In Glasgow’s fourth state the shading and the figure were removed; no impression is known of this state, but the state is inferred from the cancelled plate. According to Glasgow “Joseph Henry Wood had a greengrocer’s shop at 1 Park Walk...

Category

1880s Impressionist Levon West Art

Materials

Drypoint, Etching

Shadows on the Ramp
Shadows on the Ramp

Martin LewisShadows on the Ramp, 1927

$17,500

H 19.13 in W 21.38 in D 1 in

Shadows on the Ramp

By Martin Lewis

Located in Plano, TX

Shadows on the Ramp. 1927. Drypoint and sand ground. McCarron 64. 9 x 10 1/2 (sheet 12 3/8 x 14). Edition 75 recorded impressions. A rich, tonal impression with drypoint burr, printe...

Category

1920s American Modern Levon West Art

Materials

Drypoint, Etching

Previously Available Items
EARLY GUNNER

EARLY GUNNER

By Levon West

Located in Santa Monica, CA

LEVON WEST (1900 – 1968) EARLY GUNNER, c. 1930 Etching and drypoint signed and numbered in pencil,17. Image, 9 ½ x 15 inches. Full sheet 11 3/8 x 18 1/4 inches. With deckle ed...

Category

1930s Abstract Impressionist Levon West Art

Materials

Drypoint

East Side Pushcarts (Jewish immigrants hustle for the American Dream circa 1900)
East Side Pushcarts (Jewish immigrants hustle for the American Dream circa 1900)

East Side Pushcarts (Jewish immigrants hustle for the American Dream circa 1900)

By Levon West

Located in New Orleans, LA

The story of the pushcart is an integral and timeless part of the immigrant experience. And there is no neighborhood with which the pushcart is more associated than New York’s Lower East Side. The first pushcarts appeared on Hester Street...

Category

Early 20th Century American Modern Levon West Art

Materials

Drypoint

Levon West art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Levon West art available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Levon West in etching, drypoint, engraving and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the Impressionist style. Not every interior allows for large Levon West art, so small editions measuring 9 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of David Rosenthal, Walter Tittle, and John Costigan. Levon West art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $380 and tops out at $2,200, while the average work can sell for $625.