Levier (Only Signed Copy) (Limited Edition)

Preface by Dr. F. M. Hinkhouse; Introduction by Marvin Finell

Published by Les Editions D'art Des Champs-Elysees, Paris, 1961

About this Item

In English. First Edition, Limited Edition ( 'Of this first original edition one thousand five hundred and fifty copies have been numbered from 1 to 1550' ). This is 'No. 1419'. 27 Color Plates, 9 Drawings. Once listed, this will be the Only signed copy for sale anywhere on the Internet. It will be the Only book for sale on the Internet that Charles Levier has signed. The signed inscription is on the verso side of the second blank end paper (the inside covers and first and last end papers are red). The inscribee's name is a little difficult. Louis or Louise? Middle initial 'K' ? Last name Greenwald or Greenhald or something else? You can see the inscription in the second photo. You can also see the covers in the photos. They're mostly quite clean. There is a little bit of toning. On the front you can see what I believe is a light pen jag. The gilt lettering on the spine is nicely bright. The red (or is it orange) color of the spine is a little lighter, except for a few spots, than how it appears on the front and rear cover. The cover edges are in excellent shape, no rubbing. The front top corner and the two rear corners have only very small spots of rub-through. The spine is a little jiggly if you push at it from side to side, but the book is very solidly bound from cover to cover with nicely tight pages throughout, and nicely tight covers as well. The red front inside cover as a few tiny spots of service rubbing. The nine drawings can be seen across from the text pages of the Preface and the Introduction. That's followed by the section of Color Plates. The first one (see photo) is a fold-out. All of the plates are tipped-in. After the Plates section there is a Contents page which lists the titles of all the Drawings and Color Plates. The final page is the Limitation page. As is the case at the front there are two rear end papers, one white and one red. The pages are exceptionally clean. I didn't see any soiling. All of the color plates, all of the drawings, are perfectly clean and all the color plates are nicely bright. The color plates are also in excellent condition. 25 of the 27 are perfect. One of the other two has a tiny crease just above its left bottom corner. The other has a medium-sized crease crossing over it's bottom left corner. None of the pages have placeholder creases. I didn't see any conspicuous creasing on any of the pages, a few late ones have a teeny tiny crease just above the tips of their bottom corners. There are no markings or attachments in the book. No writing other then the artist's signed inscription. 'Charles Levier was born in 1920 to a French father and an American mother in Corsica. At 17 undertook private studies at the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Arts Decoratifs. In World War II he served in the French army in North Africa, later as a liaison officer with the US Office of Strategic Services. After the war he divided his time between the U.S. and France. His first one-person show took place at the Galerie Constantine in Lyon in 1949. In 1955 he came to the attention of Dr. Karl Lilienfeld of Van- Diemen, Lilienfeld Gallery in New York City. Dr. Lilienfeld was widely respected, and his personal enthusiasm of Levier's work was instrumental in establishing him as a significant artist and proved a valuable introduction to numerous collectors (Mr. and Mrs. Peter Lawford, Frank Sinatra, Mrs. Dean Martin, Adlai Stevenson, Baron Edmund de Rothschild, and Prince and Princess Pontiatoski). Dr. F.M. Hinkhouse of Phoenix Art Museum described him as a master of art, conceiving and executing each of his paintings with the assurance that comes from a combination of basic, instinctive talent and formidable creative energy. He was first and foremost a figurative painter, dramatic and expressionistic, definitive yet seductive, yet always subtle with carefully considered colors. His work has been exhibited at the Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris, and at museums throughout the United States.'. Seller Inventory # 005266

Bibliographic Details

Title: Levier (Only Signed Copy) (Limited Edition)

Publisher: Les Editions D'art Des Champs-Elysees, Paris

Publication Date: 1961

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Very Good

Signed: Inscribed by Author(s)

Edition: 1st Edition