‘‘American’’ photographer, was included in several
exhibitions at the Levy Gallery during the 1930s,
suggesting an association with European and surre-
alist tendencies relatively unexpected in his career.
Other photographers shown at the Julien Levy Gal-
lery included George Platt Lynes, Manuel A ́lvarez
Bravo, Andre ́Kerte ́sz, La ́szlo ́Moholy-Nagy, Brett
Weston, David Hare, and nineteenth-century mas-
ters Nadar and Julia Margaret Cameron. Perhaps
taking a cue from his mentor Stieglitz, Levy often
presented photography with other media, which
enriched and complicated viewers’ understanding
of the representational mode of photography.
The Julien Levy Gallery closed at its final loca-
tion at 42 East Fifty-Seventh Street in April 1949.
Unfortunately, there is no permanent archive of
Levy’s collection or his work as gallery owner,
dealer, and promoter of Surrealism. However,
his large collection of photographs was purchased
by the Art Institute of Chicago in the 1970s and
was featured in an exhibition at that museum in
- The Julien Levy Collection at the Art Insti-
tute of Chicago continues to be an essential
resource for understanding the growth of Amer-
ican and European photography in the mid-twen-
tieth century.
M. RachelArauzSeealso: Abbott, Berenice; An American Place;
Archives; Art Institute of Chicago; Atget, Euge`ne;
Bravo, Manuel A ́lvarez; Cartier-Bresson, Henri;
Evans, Walker; Galleries; History of Photography:
Interwar Years; Ka ̈sebier, Gertrude; Kerte ́sz, Andre ́;
Man Ray; Miller, Lee; Modernism; Moholy-Nagy,
La ́szlo ́; Museum of Modern Art; Platt Lynes, George;
Steichen, Edward; Stieglitz, Alfred; Strand, Paul;
Surrealism; White, ClarenceFurther Reading
Levy, Julien.Memoir of an Art Gallery. New York: G.P.
Putnam’s Sons, 1977.
Schaffner, Ingrid, and Lisa Jacobs, eds.Julien Levy: Portrait
of an Art Gallery. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 1998.
Travis, David.Photographs from the Julien Levy Collection
Starting with Atget. Chicago: The Art Institute of Chi-
cago, 1976.ALEXANDER LIBERMAN
American
‘‘Photography is not art’’—these are the words of
photographer, publishing executive, writer, painter,
and sculptor Alexander Liberman. Art or no, from
the time he received a vest-pocket Kodak as a gift
from his father at the age of eight, photography
would have a decisive influence on his life. Liberman
had an immense sense of documentary purpose and
fervently recorded his family, social circle, and tra-
vels. Later, his appreciation for a photograph’s
straightforwardness and spontaneity would rein-
vent fashion photography.
Alexander Liberman was born in Kiev, Russia, in
1912 to an upper-class family. In 1917, he moved to
Moscow where his father, a timber merchant and
economist, advised Vladimir Lenin and his mother
founded the first state children’s theatre, which
became a showcase for Constructivist costume and
set design. Liberman’s mother had always hoped he
would become a painter and encouraged him to use
his artistic talent to design sets for the theatre.
Unfortunately, it was closed after she refused to
adaptTreasure Islandto the ideologies of the new
Soviet republic.
In 1921, Liberman was sent to live with friends in
England. Three years later, he joined his parents in
Paris, France, where he attended the exclusive
Ecole des Roches and received a degree in Philoso-
phy and Mathematics from the Sorbonne in 1930.
While in Paris, he became acquainted with many
artists—especially Russian e ́migre ́s such as Marc
Chagall. In 1931, he began to study painting with
Andre ́Lhote and architecture with Auguste Perret
at the Ecole Spe ́ciale. He then transferred to the
architecture program at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts
and accepted a part-time job with noted artist and
designer Cassandre.
After he withdrew from his studies, the progres-
sive editor Lucien Vogel asked him to join the staff
ofVu, one of the first photographically illustrated
magazines, where he worked as art director andLEVY, JULIEN