Mervyn Levy (11 February 1914 – 14 April 1996) was a Welsh artist, art teacher and writer on art. Born in Swansea, where he became a friend of the painter

Alfred Janes Alfred George Janes (30 June 1911 – 3 February 1999) was a Welsh artist, who worked in Swansea and Croydon. He experimented with many forms, but is best known for his meticulous still lifes and Portrait painting, portraits. He is also remembe ...

, the poet

Dylan Thomas Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer, whose works include the poems " Do not go gentle into that good night" and " And death shall have no dominion", as well as the "play for voices" ''Un ...

and the musician Daniel Jones, he spent most of his teaching career in Bristol and London, and made several popular television series about painting techniques. He published monographs on contemporary artists, and a catalogue raisonnee of the works of his friend the painter L. S. Lowry.

Biography

Mervyn Montague Levy was born on 11 February 1914, in

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, the son of Louis Levy and Have Levy (née Rubenstein). One of his two siblings was a sister five years younger than he. When he was about seven years old he began attending Mrs Hole's preparatory school in Mirador Crescent, where he met the future poet,

, with whom he would associate later as one of The Kardomah Gang. When he was eight, Levy's mother died, and his father engaged a series of nurses to look after Mervyn and his siblings. Levy went to study art in London at the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public university, public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City, London, White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design uni ...

, and in 1935 won a prize for Drawing. During this period Levy shared rooms with Dylan Thomas and the painter

in Redcliffe Street, and afterwards in rooms where they were joined by the painter William Scott. A striking portrait of Levy in 1935 was made by Alfred Janes. Levy drew several portraits of Dylan Thomas. During the Second World War Levy was a Captain in the Royal Army Educational Corps.C. Levy, 'Obituary: Mervyn Levy', in ''The Independent'' (1996 May 17) After the War Levy devoted his energies first to teaching, and afterwards to writing on art. He first became an overseas lecturer on art for the War Office, in Gibraltar and Germany. On leaving the army he taught art at Bristol, at Bristol University Adult Education Department and afterwards at the Royal West of England Academy, and combined these posts with teaching at London University Department of Extra-Mural Studies. During the 1950s he presented the popular BBC television series, 'Painting for Housewives', and frequently broadcast on BBC radio and interviewed artists for BBC archives. During the late 1950s he also wrote exhibition reviews for ArtReview, then titled Art News and Review. As a result of his teaching experience Levy began publishing on the techniques of art - ''Painter's progress'' (1954), ''Painting for All'' (1958), ''Drawing and painting for young people'' (1961), ''The Human form in art'' (1961), ''The Moons of Paradise: some reflections on the appearance of the female breast in art'' (1962), ''A Dictionary of Art Terms'' (1963), ''The artist and the nude: an anthology of drawings'' (1965), and ''Drawing and sculpture'' (1970). His interest in

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

led to the publication of his ''Liberty Style: the classic years 1898-1910'' (1986). However, he became increasingly interested in particular artists, and in the course of a distinguished career as a critic he produced monographs on ''Drawings of L. S. Lowry'' (1963), ''The Paintings of

D. H. Lawrence David Herbert Lawrence (11 September 1885 – 2 March 1930) was an English novelist, short story writer, poet, playwright, literary critic, travel writer, essayist, and painter. His modernist works reflect on modernity, social alienation ...

'' (1964), ''The Paintings of L.S. Lowry: oils and watercolours'' (1975), '' Whistler lithographs: an illustrated catalogue raisonne'' (1975), ''The Drawings of L. S. Lowry public and private'' (1976), and ''

Carel Weight Carel Victor Morlais Weight, (10 September 1908 – 13 August 1997) was an English painter. Biography Weight was born in Paddington in 1908. His father was a bank cashier and his mother, who was of Swedish and German descent, was a chirop ...

'' (1986). In 1968 he, with

Pamela Hansford Johnson Pamela Hansford Johnson, Baroness Snow, (29 May 1912 – 18 June 1981) was an English novelist, playwright, poet, literary and social critic. Life Johnson was born in London. Her mother, Amy Clotilda Howson, was a singer and actress, from a ...

and

Robert Lowell Robert Traill Spence Lowell IV (; March 1, 1917 – September 12, 1977) was an American poet. He was born into a Boston Brahmin family that could trace its origins back to the ''Mayflower''. His family, past and present, were important subjects ...

, contributed to

Perry Miller Adato Perry Miller Adato (December 22, 1920 – September 16, 2018) was an American documentary film producer and director and writer. Adato was born Lillian Perry Miller in Yonkers, New York. At age 18 she moved to Greenwich Village. She married Neil ...

's documentary film, ''Dylan Thomas The World I Breathe''. In addition he wrote contributions or introductions to exhibition catalogues and studies on several artists - Frans Baljon (1948), Eva Frankfurther (1962), Gaudier-Brzeska drawings and sculpture (1965), Horace Brodzky retrospective (1965), Scottie Wilson (1966), Clifford Hall (1967),

(1972), John Bignell Chelsea photographer (1983), the (Ruth) Lambert Collection (1988), Ronald Ossory Dunlop (1989?), Rabuzin (1990) and

Colin Moss Colin Moss may refer to: * Colin Moss (artist) * Colin Moss (actor) Colin 'Cole' Moss (born 9 February 1976), is a South African actor primarily active in British, American and South African cinema and television. Personal life He was born on ...

(1996). In 1982 he published his autobiography, ''Reflections in a broken mirror''. His pencil portrait of

LS Lowry Laurence Stephen Lowry ( ; 1 November 1887 – 23 February 1976) was an English artist. His drawings and paintings mainly depict Pendlebury, Greater Manchester (where he lived and worked for more than 40 years) as well as Salford and its ...

(1961), is held at the

Herbert Art Gallery and Museum Herbert Art Gallery & Museum (also known as the Herbert) is a museum, art gallery, records archive, learning centre, media studio and creative arts facility on Jordan Well, Coventry, England. Overview The museum is named after Alfred Herbert, ...

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

.Mervyn Levy, ‘Lowry, Laurence Stephen (1887–1976)’, rev. Julian Spalding,

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2006 His strong absorption in the personalities of creative artists made Levy an excellent interviewer and raconteur. Levy married three times. He had two sons and one daughter, Maureen. He died on 14 April 1996. A portrait of Mervyn Levy by Alfred Janes (1935) is held by the

Glynn Vivian Art Gallery The Glynn Vivian Art Gallery is the public art gallery of the City and County of Swansea, in Wales, United Kingdom. The gallery is situated in Alexandra Road, near Swansea railway station, opposite the old Swansea Central Library. History The ...

, Swansea. Mervyn Levy's niece is the artist, Isa Levy.

Select Writings

* ''Painting for All'' (1958) * ''The Paintings of L. S. Lowry'' (1975) * ''Whistler Lithographs: An Illustrated Catalogue Raisonné'' (1975) * ''The Drawings of L. S. Lowry'' (1976)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Levy, Mervyn 1914 births 1996 deaths Artists from Swansea 20th-century Welsh artists Alumni of the Royal College of Art

Biography

Select Writings

Further reading

References