Don Levy (born Donald Anthony Levy; 1932 – January 1987) was an Australian-born artist and filmmaker. Levy was born in

Bathurst, New South Wales Bathurst () is a city in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia. Bathurst is about 200 kilometres (120 mi) west-northwest of Sydney and is the seat of the Bathurst Region, Bathurst Regional Council. Founded in 1815, Bathurst is ...

, Australia, the elder brother of the ceramicist Colin Levy. While studying theoretical chemistry at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

, he founded the Sydney University Art Group, in collaboration with Ruth Hansman, a student of

Darius Milhaud Darius Milhaud (, ; 4 September 1892 – 22 June 1974) was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as ''The Group of Six''—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His composition ...

;

Paul Hockings Paul Hockings (born February 23, 1935) is an anthropologist whose prime areas of focus are the Dravidian languages, social, visual and medical anthropology. He studied archaeology and anthropology at the University of Sydney, the University of C ...

, a documentary filmmaker and critic; and Robert Hughes, later to be the Art Editor on

Time Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps as ''TIME'') is an American news magazine based in New York City. It was published weekly for nearly a century. Starting in March 2020, it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York Cit ...

. Levy was awarded a research scholarship to the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, and there he obtained a PhD in theoretical chemical physics in 1960. While at Cambridge, Levy became involved in the Film Society and made his first short films. After Cambridge, he was awarded the first-ever film scholarship in Britain to study in the newly created Film Department of the

Slade School of Fine Art The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...

under the leadership of filmmaker-turned-lecturer

Thorold Dickinson Thorold Barron Dickinson (16 November 1903 – 14 April 1984) was a British film director, screenwriter, film editor, film producer, and Britain's first university professor of film. Dickinson's work received much praise, with fellow direct ...

. He then made a number of short films for the

Nuffield Foundation The Nuffield Foundation is a charitable trust established in 1943 by William Morris, Lord Nuffield, the founder of Morris Motors Ltd. It aims to improve social well-being by funding research and innovation projects in education and social pol ...

, including the experimental documentary ''Time Is'' (1964). In 1962, he obtained a filmmaking grant from the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

Experimental Film Fund for the production of an experimental feature film, '' Herostratus''. The film, made on a shoestring budget, took over five years to be completed. It was co-financed between the BFI, the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, and former BFI Director James Quinn. It was released in May 1968, opening at the ICA in London, subsequently being screened at film festivals. In 1968, Levy took up a position at the

Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts The Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts at Harvard University, in Cambridge, Massachusetts is the only building designed primarily by Le Corbusier in the United States—he contributed to the design of the United Nations Secretariat Building— ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, where he stayed for two years. He then moved to Los Angeles to work at the

California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a Private university, private art school in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for ...

until his death in 1987 by committing suicide.

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Levy, Don 1932 births 1987 deaths 1987 suicides Alumni of the Slade School of Fine Art Australian film directors Australian film producers Harvard University staff

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Further reading

External links