Abstract
Signed upper right: Levee ’58
Description
John Levee was a leading American Abstract Expressionist who spent most of his career working in Paris, where he developed a bold and highly personal visual language. Painted in 1958, Abstract exemplifies the energetic style that established his reputation during the postwar era. Rich blue hues animate the composition, while thick passages of impasto paint create a tactile, sculptural surface that emphasizes the physical act of painting itself. Influenced by the gestural freedom of the New York School, Levee used forceful brushwork and layered textures to convey movement, emotion, and structure without relying on recognizable subject matter. The result is a powerful example of 1950s abstraction, balancing expressive spontaneity with compositional sophistication and demonstrating the artist’s mastery of paint as both material and image.
Provenance
Private collection, Newburyport, MA
Inscriptions
1). (on middle stretcher, in pencil): Simon
Labels
1). (on middle stretcher): ART – TRANSIT / S.A. / EMBALLAGES D’OBJETS D’ART / 22 bis, Rue de Paradis / PARIS – 10 / PRO: 45 – 18 No.
Exhibitions
Literature
Condition
Very good. No inpaint visible under UV, no missing impasto.
Frame Details
Description
John Levee was a leading American Abstract Expressionist who spent most of his career working in Paris, where he developed a bold and highly personal visual language. Painted in 1958, Abstract exemplifies the energetic style that established his reputation during the postwar era. Rich blue hues animate the composition, while thick passages of impasto paint create a tactile, sculptural surface that emphasizes the physical act of painting itself. Influenced by the gestural freedom of the New York School, Levee used forceful brushwork and layered textures to convey movement, emotion, and structure without relying on recognizable subject matter. The result is a powerful example of 1950s abstraction, balancing expressive spontaneity with compositional sophistication and demonstrating the artist’s mastery of paint as both material and image.
Provenance
Private collection, Newburyport, MA
Inscriptions
1). (on middle stretcher, in pencil): Simon
Labels
1). (on middle stretcher): ART – TRANSIT / S.A. / EMBALLAGES D’OBJETS D’ART / 22 bis, Rue de Paradis / PARIS – 10 / PRO: 45 – 18 No.
Exhibitions
Literature
Condition
Very good. No inpaint visible under UV, no missing impasto.
