User:Imejoart/sandbox

= Charles Levier = Charles Levier (born Charles, Joseph, Maurice Levie) (26 January 1920 – 3 September 2003) was a French American modernist artist known by several names: Charles Levier (used for his most important works of his own style), Maurice Verrier, Jacut, De Montfort, Balleroy, Roberval, Villard, Jean De Narbonne (used to make money at the beginning of his career with different styles and to sell works for Hotels or restaurants).

Levier is best known for his Post-Impressionistic still-lifes, “Fleurs” Flowers, cityscapes of Corsica harbor towns, and streets of Paris, expressionistic females “Femmes”, “Filles” and clowns “Arlequins” oils, drawings, watercolors and lithographs.

Levier was considered one of the most prominent figurative painters of the School of Paris in 20th century.

For over forty years, Levier enjoyed an important position with countless exhibitions around the world.

In the 50s and 60s Levier was extremely popular in Hollywood. He was collected by many Hollywood celebrities and was a favorite artist among the pop culture elite in America. His work referenced earlier French work due to its emphasis on post-impressionism, cubism, fauvism and expressionism. The same design principles were echoed in the mid-century modern movement in America.

The ‘Rat Pack’, including Frank Sinatra, as well as Jackie Kennedy were major collectors of his work.

In Academy Award winning movie “Guess Who is Coming to Dinner” (1967), starring Sidney Pointier, Katherine Hepburn and Spenser Tracy, Levier’s paintings are seen in many rooms of the Hepburn – Tracy mansion.

Dr. F.M. Hinkhouse of the Phoenix Art Museum described Levier as a Master of Art, conceiving and executing each of his paintings with the assurance that comes from a combination of basic, instinctive talent, good taste and formidable creative energy. He is first and foremost a figurative painter, dramatic and expressionistic, definitive yet seductive, yet always subtle with carefully considered colors.

E. Benezit, "Dictionaires des Peintras, Sculpteurs, Dessinacteurs, et Graveurs, "volume 6, pg. 630, confirms Levier's solid price structure.

Levier's works have been included in the following collections: the Museum of Modern Art, Paris; the Menton Museum, Paris; and the Musée Fesch art museum in Ajaccio, Corsica. In the United States his work may be found in the permanent collection of the Atlanta Museum, the Seattle Museum, the Evansville Museum, the New Orleans Museum and the San Diego Museum. His work can also be found in the prominent collections of Frank Sinatra, Kennedy family, Elvis Presley, Mr. and Mrs. Peter Lawford, Adlai Stevenson, Edward G. Robinson, Charles Bronson, Baron Edmond de Rothschild, Prince and Princess Poniatoski, the Pozzo di Borgo family, Mrs. Dan Topping., Mr. and Mrs. Dean Martin and in other private collections throughout the world.

There was a certain decline in interest with Levier's work in the later decades of the 20th century as interest shifted away from figurative art. But recently there has been a renewed spike in interest in the work of Charles Levier.

Early life and education
Levier was born on the island of Corsica in the city of Ajaccio to a French father, Captain Marcel Levie (31 August 1895 – 10 January 1939) and an American mother Gladys Ffoulke-Smith (1881 – 29 March 1934). Levier’s family “Levie” is well known and important in Corsica and has been in existence since early history. In fact, the Levies are close relatives of Bonaparte and Ramolino families who are also from Ajaccio.

The name Levie came from the name of the village of “Levie,” situated above Sart?ne in the Alta Rocca in Corsica. The remains of the family castle can still be visited today.

Levier’s father, Capt. Marcel Levie, was a WWI hero who was sent to Washington D.C to attend conferences commissioned by Tardieu. During this trip he met his American wife Gladys Ffoulke, divorced from Smith (1881 -29 March 1934).

Levier’s grand-uncle was a famous Corsican artist, Jean-Jérôme Levie (1809 - Ajaccio, 1882) whose paintings, mostly romantic landscapes, are exposed in the Musée Fesch art museum in Ajaccio. Charles’s maternal grandfather, Charles M. Ffoulke, was an American philanthropist, world traveler and one of the founders of the Academy of Art. Charles M. Ffoulke was a notable collector of the Barberini Tapestries that now belong to American museums, including the Art Institute of Chicago. Some of the tapestries are also stored at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in New York City.

Charles’s grandmother (Sarah Adeline Cushing) Ffoulke was an art student in the studio of Mr. Lazarus, a noted portrait painter of that period with the intention of preparing for an artist's career.

Charles and his twin brother Jean-Jérôme Levie Ffoulke (1920 - May 3, 2012) were raised in Ajaccio Corsica with their half-sister Gwendoline Smith (from the first marriage of their mother), who was 12 years older than them. The other half-sister Gladys Smith, 18 years older than twins remained with her grandmother in Washington.

Coming from an artistic family on both mother’s and father’s sides, Levier held a fascination with color and form from an early age. His mother Gladys introduced him to painting when he was around two years old. Earliest Charles’s memory was his mother drawing with him on her bed in the morning. Numerous Levier paintings reference the view on Ajaccio bay from a window of the old family house “Le Gourbi” are reflecting happy memories of Charles’s childhood.

For secondary school the twins were sent to “Ecole des Roches,” a famous and exclusive boarding school in Normandie. On their vacations they returned to Corsica and in August they visited their paternal grandmother at Saint-Jacut-de-la Mer in Brittany (France). Some Levier landscape paintings reflect memories of that time.

After his mother’s death in 1934 in Corsica, his father remarried and moved to Never in Central France.

At 16 Charles was sent to Paris where he had a room at madam Pinçon’s in Montparnasse, where many students “de Bonne Famille" were lodged.

In preparation for the “Beaux art” Charles attended the atelier de design of the painter Victor Sacha Darbefeuille, the same atelier where younger Bernard Buffet studied.

At the age of 17 Charles studied as a private student École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, until the beginning of war.

War years
As WWII started in 1939 Charles decided to join the army to defend France. He was assigned to a garrisons in Dinan, Bretagne for military training.

During a six-week period (Battle of France) between May and June 1940, Germany destroyed the French army and captured about 1.8 million French soldiers. After a brief period of captivity in France, most of the prisoners were deported to Germany to work on factories and in agriculture.

On the way to Germany Charles managed to escape one of the transition camps, then he walked all the way to Paris trying to find shelter at his godfather house, but the man was scared to hide him and after being refused Charles returned to Brittany (Dinan, St Samson sur Rance).

For a while he was hiding in the house of Annie de Penguilly’s (1916-present) father as an agricultural worker. Charles met Annie during his training time in the garrison and fell in love with her. In December 1940 Charles and Annie went to Paris and got married.

In 1941 Annie gave birth to their first daughter Josy Levie (1941-1998) and in 1943 to Gladys Levie (1943-present).

In 1942 Charles with his brother-in-law, WWII hero Count Jacques le Bel de Penguilly, crossed the French-Spain border. They were imprisoned in Spain, but also managed to escape and finally reached Algeria.

There Charles joined the Free French Fighting Force in North Africa and with his twin brother Jean-Jérôme became Liaison Officer with the US Office of Strategic Services (as his mother was an American). This organization was created in 1942 under the Joint Chiefs of Staff for obtaining information at enemy nations. Behind enemy lines, the OSS acted as a liaison within the underground forces in German occupied countries. In 1945, the unit became the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency).

General William Donovan sent a dozen men to serve in North African ports with the task to gather information and establish networks to guide Allied landings in North African ports.

On September 14, 1943 Charles levier, his twin brother Jean-Jérôme, captain Elmer Harris and Major Carlton S. Coon were the first OSS officers parachuted from Algiers into Sagone, Corsica to fight for liberating the island of Corsica.

Carlton S. Coon was a noted anthropologist of Harvard, pioneer in Social Anthropology, author of “The Origin of Races”. In 1980 he published A North Africa Story: The Anthropologist as OSS Agent.

After the WWII
After the end of World War II, Charles returned to his wife’s home in Brittany.

Levier's interest in painting became even stronger. He works hard preparing to his first exhibition.

Several paintings of that time signed ‘Levié’ are known – ‘Descent from the Cross’ (1945), portraits of Annie (1945) and some other portraits. Even though these works of young Levier have some influence by works of Cezanne and Modigliani, they reflect strong unique style of Levier which distinguish them from works of other modernists of the 20th century.

In 1946 after having an exhibition in Galerie Constantine, Lyon, Charles with his wife Annie, her sister Elisabeth, two daughters and twin brother Jean-Jerome traveled to the United States where Jean-Jerome bought Cinelandia Magazine.

Cinelandia, a Latino magazine, that was covering cinema, mostly Hollywood news. Charles and Jean-Jerome were living in NY and LA interviewing Hollywood celebrities such as Walt Disney, Olivia de Havilland and were taking care of the magazine’s front cover with pictures of glamorous Hollywood stars of that time. This business established Charles’s strong connections to the cinematic world.

Annie with daughters returned back to France, where her father Louis le Bel de Penguilly helped her to put into place the separation of body (with asking money of course). After that the real fight began. Charles had a serious breakdown.

Jean-Jerome sold Cinelandia and also returned to France. Charles went to LA where for a period of about two years he was working as a scene decorator in the movie and theater industry. There he met his second wife French actress Vanda Dupre (born Wanda Anne Brzoskiewicz) (10 June 1921 – 26 Jul 2009). Wanda is most remembered for Manon (1949), Fifi Blows Her Top (1958) and The Girl in the Kremlin (1957).

All that time Charles continued working hard painting in his studios preparing his first one-man show that was opened at the Galerie Constantine, in Lyons in 1949, followed by an American debut in Los Angeles in 1950 at the Martin Lowitz Gallery.

Martin Lowitz time
After losing all his inherited family money in the gold scam, to support himself and his family Charles starts working on Martin Lowitz ’s hotel contracts.

Martin Lowitz the German-born art dealer and entrepreneur had artists throughout the world working for him. Their paintings poured daily to his storehouses for framing and were immediately sent out to a constant line of bulk buyers. Lowitz was provided paintings by thousands for decorating new and renovated hotels, banks, offices, passenger ships and businesses throughout the United States. Some artists that worked for Lowitz were well known but used pseudo names.

Instead of using canvases, Lowitz's artists all worked directly on beaver board which he supplied. Since frames are an important part in the cost of a painting, Lowitz mass-produced his frames to fit the standard sizes of beaver board used by the artists.

Lowitz sold a collection of paintings to the Shamrock Hotel in Houston for $103,000 in 1947. After that orders came from more hotels like the Tropicana, the Hilton in Beverly Hills, San Francisco’s St. Francis, Western Hotels and the Hollywood Roosevelt which has 800 Lowitz paintings. In one of interviews Lowitz admits that of these, several hundred are painted by a young Frenchman who paints similarly to Raoul Dufy.

It is believed that in his struggled time Charles Levier under different pseudonyms produced more than a thousand paintings for Martin Lowitz contracted hotels in California.

Pseudonyms
For mass production contracts Charles was using the pseudonym Jean De Narbonne, Montfort, Maurice Verrier and a few others. Works that were signed by these names were done under high pressure of mass production. Some of such works were made on Lowitz’s request in the style of popular at that time French Fauvists as Raoul Dufy, Valmic, Klee, so they don’t always have good artistic quality or uniqueness, but some of them could be considered as real masterpieces that reflect unique style of Levier.

The other reason for using pseudonyms in the beginning of his carrier in the USA was that Charles had some exclusive contracts with his major curators and art galleries for the ‘Levier’ name, so he used several pseudonyms to earn money selling his works on the side.

For some of pseudonyms Charles created an artist biography with elements of his own biography e.g.:

''Jean De Narbonne. Born in 1917 in South of France from old family related to Toulouse-Lautrec. He graduated from the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Montpellier and traveled extensively thereafter. de Narbonne's paintings were nominated for the Venice Festival and he won the gold medal at the Salon d'Automne in 1942.''

''Maurice Verrier. He was born in St. Malo, Brittany, France in 1917. He studied with Andre Lhote, also with Rouault during the German occupation on the Eglise de Normandie. Graduated from the National Academy of Paris Beaux Art. Won many prizes and honorable mentions in London, Paris Berlin and Rome.''

''Charles de Montfort. Born in 1910 in Ajaccio, Corsica. Studied at the Beaux Art Academy and for three years with Henri Matisse. Exhibited in France and Spain and received many prizes and honorable mention. Best known for his Paris Café scenes and boat scenes on the Riviera.''

St. Jacut. ''Born in 1919 Rennes Brittany. Attendet the Ecole des Beaux Art of Montpeller from which he graduated. He is best known for his Parisian figures and flowers. He received the gold medal from the city of Paris for * in art. His pictures hang in such collections as those of the Baron de Rothchild …''

In the same time, Charles constantly had ‘Levier’ shows of his high-quality unique works in Martin Lowitz’s Los Angeles galleries.

After 5 years of leaving together on New Year’s Eve 1953 Charles married Vanda Dupre.

Charles often accompanied Vanda to auditions. One time, the director asked Levier to come on stage saying that he looked the part. They hired him instead of Wanda and she was furious. Though he never finished the rehearsals and ended up leaving the cast because he was “petrified” being on stage.

Charles also produced and directed a small movie in those days.

Marriage with Vanda lasted less than two years and ended in divorce (18 July 1955). Later, Vanda became the wife of the actor Jack Warden (10 October 1958 until his death on 19 July 2006) with whom she had one child.

Vanda Warden published two novels "Jealousy" (2000) and "Masques"(2001). Both novels have a character inspired by Charles Levier. They stayed good intimate friends with each other until Charles’s death.

Living in LA, Charles and Vanda were sharing the same swimming pool with the next-door neighbor, another American actress April Kent (born as April Reed) (2 April 1935-28 December 1998), a niece of the famous burlesque stripper Gypsy Rose Lee, cousin of Erik Lee Preminger stepdaughter of the producer and film director William Spier. She is remembered for Tammy and the Bachelor (1957), The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957), Rock, Pretty Baby (1956), I’ve Lived Before (1956).

Charles married April, but their marriage also lasted only about two years.

In 1955 Charles worked as an illustrator for the Esquire Magazine in New York.

In parallel he continued with shows in Galleries de Colisee, Paris, France and galleries in the United States.

Dr. Lilienfeld of Van-Diemen, Lilienfeld Gallery
In 1956 Levier’s works came to the attention of Dr. Lilienfeld of Van-Diemen, Lilienfeld Gallery in New York City. The Van Diemen-Lilienfeld Galleries had relocated to New York from Germany and were led by Karl Lilienfeld (1885-1966). After WWII, the gallery dealt in Old Master paintings and contemporary French and German expressionist works.

Dr. Lilienfeld was a widely respected scholar whose recommendations were highly regarded by collectors, his personal enthusiasm of Levier's work was instrumental in establishing Levier as a significant, recognized artist. Lilienfeld provided a valuable introduction of Levier’s works to innumerable collectors.

From 1956 to 1965 Levier’s works were constantly shown at the Van-Diemen Lilienfeld Gallery in New York. His work referenced earlier French work due to its emphasis on cubism, post-impressionism, expressionism. The same design principles were echoed in the mid-century modern movement in America, making Levier's art particularly popular during the 1950s and 1960s in America.

In 1958 Levier had his first exhibition with Juarez Gallery, Palm Beach. That time he sold many of his paintings to Colonel C. Michael Paul, US, a friend of President John F. Kennedy.

1960s
In 1961 a book “LEVIER” was published in Paris. In the preface to the book Dr F.M. Hinkhouse of the Phoenix Art Museum writes: “On looking at the painter's total output, one can see his roots in such ‘painterly’ ''masters as Chardin and Zurburan and his Andalusian circle; in Braque and Cézanne, and, when he is involved in his introspective and trenchant study of lonely women of the "half world", the morbidly emotional inspiration of Edvard Munch is felt. The brooding masters of the German Expressionist movement also have their place in Levier's background. In the realm of landscape particularly, the textural quality and the lonely perspective of Vlaminck have been understood but the somber color is foreign to Levier and here, as with all other influences, Levier's personal response to subject, texture, color and form is paramount.”''

 

In the introduction to the same “LEVIER” book Marvin Finell says, " 'Levier's girls, individually, may be mannequins, teenagers, coquettes or street walkers. They may be pert peevish, haughty or cold. At times their faces may disclose nothing, at others the intensity of feature or shadow or coloring may expose the innermost recess of their minds."

 

In the beginning of 60’s Levier was sharing an apartment in Manhattan with his friends Bertrand Castelli and Alvaro Guillot, a young French artist, whom he influenced to paint and introduced to Galerie Juarez.

In 1962, Charles Levier married a model and stage/commercial television actress, Carroll Brooks (Finian’s Rainbow on Broadway, supporting actress in a United States tour of “The Warm Peninsula” with Academy Award winner Julie Hariss and Scott Brady). She was also in many commercials, notably a Saran Wrap commercial, French film Mauvais Sang and Boy Meets Girl by Leos Carax. Charles stayed with Carroll for 20 years.

Fueled by the desire to concentrate on his art and to live “à la campagne,” but not too far from the city, Levier moved from Manhattan and bought a house from the famous Anglo-American playwright and writer of musical comedies Guy Bolton (1884-1979) on Bishop Avenue facing Beaver Damn Creek in Westhampton, Long Island, NY. As the Boltons lived in the house next door, both couples become close friends.

In 1963 his daughter Nancy Caroline was born.

Charles transformed his house’s garage into a makeshift studio.

“''The garage was dark, and he often painted with an electric lamp hanging above. I remember hearing the shuffling of his steps back and forth, looking closely at his strokes, and moving backwards to eye the whole painting. I could hear his coughing too, as he smoked Gitanes incessantly. He said, “it helps me concentrate.”  - His daughter Nancy remembers, “Those noises, the art around the house, and the smell of paint and turpentine mixed with cigarette smoke created an odd atmosphere of comfort, beauty and love that I will never forget…”''

That time Charles’s new home and studio was frequently visited by many well-known friends including prince Felix Yusupov who were friends with Levie family from 20’s back in Corsica were Yusupovs had one of their residences.

The family split their time between Westhampton, NY and the island of Corsica in France where Levier eventually built a house near Ajaccio in Corsica, looking down at the beautiful Gravone river. The house was modeled after his half-sister’s Ranch in New Mexico, which he had visited many times. Gwendoline, in fact owned a working ranch with cowboys, horses and cattle. Thus, the house in Corsica resembled a ranch with white walls, a red-tiled roof and olive-green shutters. A matching green stable and a chicken coop on a nearby mount sheltered five horses and a few chickens. The valley was surrounded by majestic chiseled mountains which appear often in his work. They occupied the Westhampton home from September to spring where Nancy attended Elementary school, and the rest of the year lived at “the Ranch,” the name of the Corsican home.

Reviling pseudonyms
In February 1963 in an interview for Miami News Charles Levier finally reviles his pseudonyms Jacut, Verrier, Balleroy, Narbonne, De Montfort. “I was forced to do it to live,” he said. ''“Young painters in Europe receive little money for their work, and every dealer, when he finds a promising artist, wants his work confined. So, I confined mine to several! One gallery featured Jacut, who painted girls, mostly – another was interested in Verrier village street scenes – Narbonne painted landscapes and seascapes – and De Montfort did everything …  It was fine at first, but as each ‘artist’ became a rage, and dealers demanded more and more paintings, I was about to have a nervous breakdown. Besides painting different subjects, each ‘artist’ employed a different technique, so I was in a constant state of confusion trying to remember, with each stroke of the brush, who I was. Now I’m just myself. Life is much simple. I can be any one of the other artists at any time, or all of them at once, and it’s heaven!”''

The decision to be himself came as a result of a sale at the America’s largest auction house Parke-Bernet (Sotheby’s) Galleries in New York. Several paintings owned by the Rockefeller Foundation were put up for auction there, and when a Levier drew a higher bid than a Jucut or a Narbonne, Levier knew he had arrived!

On October 28th, 1963 Charles Levier appeared on the CBS television program “To Tell The Truth” as a guest. Panel members included Kitty Carlisle, Peggy Cass, Abe Burrows and Tom Poston. Levier also revealed himself as an artist who painted using names Narbonne, De Montfort, Jacut, Verrier, Balleroy in his struggling days.

In 1963, Levier completed his first show with Galerie Juarez. Florals, landscapes, still-lifes and clowns, boat and marine scenes and women of the night dominated themes of the exhibitions. Several titles of Levier's shows included: “Corsican Souvenir”,” Fleurs” and “My Island”.

Soon to be one of the galleries most popular artists, Levier enjoyed many one-man shows at Galerie Juarez and its distinct locations including Galerie Juarez in Los Angeles, Palm Beach and Madrid.

In an introduction to the published in Parish in 1963 book '''“LEVIER. A COLLECTION OF DRAWINGS”' Guy Bolton writes: “Levier's art cannot be assigned to a school. He is not a subscriber to the successive 'isms' that have held sway throughout the period we call post-impressionist. The piled-up building blocks that constitute a Corsican hill village, as seen in several of these drawings, may reflect the tenets of Cezanne but Levier is plainly unwilling to imprison Nature within the confines of geometry. He shares the view expressed by Renoir when he said: "No beautiful picture is made by theories."''

''Levier has the simplicity of contour that we find in Gauguin and, looking back to the triumvirate of Gauguin, Cezanne and Van Gogh, whose methods and ideas lie at the foundation of modern art, it is to the first named of the three that we might trace an influence. His nudes have a sharpness of outline, even an angularity that is in marked contrast to the sensuous curves of Renoir's well-fed models. It is to their forthright quality that the wistful girls to be found in this book of drawings owe their voluptuous effect. They betray no shrinking awareness of their nudity, no coquetry, no effort at semi-concealment. They are unashamedly naked and seem to say, as did Regina Badet when she flung open her cloak on the stage of the Opera Comique: "That is the way my mother made me, if you don't like it you don't have to look."''

Thereafter, the works of Levier were spotlighted in numerous shows, highlighted by excerpts of the Palm Beach Daily News and The Miami News:

“Starting as a graphist as did Bernard Buffet, Levier used angular strokes in black and then outlined his forms and compositions in subdued tones that brought out the contrasting mellowness of these strong pieces.”

The Palm Beach Daily News reported April 5, 1964 "Outstanding are some of the new canvases by Charles Levier, whose paintings these last two seasons have proved popular. His linear style has become his stock in trade." The exhibition hosted 30 international and American artists and was titled "Pour Vous".

December 2-31, 1964. Exhibition of Recent Works by Charles Levier. Van Diemen-Lilienfeld Galleries. NY. 21 new works presented. Several titles of Levier's shows included: “Femmes au Bar”, “Saltimbanue et sa Femme”, “Le Balcon”, “La Rue de Senlis”, …

Galerie Juarez extended an exhibition in April 1965 of Levier's new work: a collection of oils completed in the Corsican studio and 20 nude drawings. As posted in the Palm Beach Daily News, April 1, 1965, Gregg Juarez stated: “There seems to be a completely new group of art buyers and patrons here in Palm Beach and the interest has been so great for the artist's work that we are extending the show”.

In November 1967 Desert Sun reported on Charles Levier’s exhibition in Lowitz Galleries Palm Springs, California: “''Charles Levier is an honest, outspoken man as he is an artist. His works are in museums and major collections throughout the world, and he is without a doubt one of the finest painters alive today. The slim distinguished looking Levier flew to Palm Springs from Paris last weekend to attend the opening of his new one-man show at the Martin Lowitz Galleries…  The honesty of expression in each of his works may sometimes at first appear flat, without depth, but closer inspection finds that there is a unique, independent strength of spirit. Levier has a masterful sense of composition; there are no art gimmicks, no attempt to overpower the viewer with clever brush or knife touches.''

''His villages, landscapes are appealing in their simplicity, with colors blending together beautifully, either soft and rich or harsh and somber. The nudes, groups of girls, or other women all hold an expressive style that is alone Leviers. His women are gentle, soft, and loving, with hope intertwined with sadness in their eyes. His mixture of colors is not wild; perhaps there are blues and dark greens, or reds and black and bright greens, or soft lavenders and pinks that blend to beauty; whatever, within his color formations there is a power that stands out. His linear arrangements melt into backgrounds of more strength, be they trees, the sea, or country. Levier is in love with life, and isn’t afraid to say so”''

The Palm Beach Daly News also reported "Invitation to Europe” opening April 26, 1969. The show included Levier as one of the artists in a larger exhibition of European artists, including Phillipe Noyer, Michel Rodde and Alvaro Guillot.

n 50s and 60s Levier was extremely popular with Hollywood, being collected by many Hollywood celebrities and was a favorite artist among the pop culture elite in America. The ‘Rat Pack’, including Frank Sinatra and Peter Lawford, as well as Jackie Kennedy was major collectors of his work.

Levier had had many friends in the theater and movie industry, his best friend was Bertrand Castelli who had written and produced Hair in London in the 60’s, American actors Charles Bronson and Jill Ireland, Tony Franciosa, film director Vincente Minelli, father of Liza Minnelli.

In Academy Award movie “Guess Who is Coming to Dinner” (1967), starring Sidney Pointier, Katherine Hepburn and Spenser Tracy, Levier’s painting are seen in many rooms of the Hepburn – Tracy mansion.

1970s
In the beginning of 70s the Wally F. Findlay gallery that was very interested in Levier’s work, took him on, but made certain demands about how his art should look and how and where he should spend his time in order to attract its clients. Levier not only disliked having to be exclusive but also having to split his time between social dinners of the director Simone Karoff. His relationship with Simone Karoff was a far cry from the alliance he had with Lilienfeld. He felt like a pawn, trapped between the claws of a dragoness. He refused to spend more time in the States and refused to go to her “boring” dinner parties. During one of those encounters, Levier told a joke that was rebuked by Simone Karoff, and the deal with the Findlay gallery was off.

In 1972, in honor of their 10th Anniversary, Galerie Juarez created an exhibition of new works in Levier's honor.

A special Easter exhibition titled “Fleurs" was opened by Galerie Juarez in March 1970 and again in April 1973, according to the Palm Beach Daily News: "… ''Levier, who for seven seasons has shown great popularity...sent a special group of floral studies from his native Corsica for this Easter exhibit. Noted during the exhibition was how Levier painted each bouquet arranged in a manner which presented various moods to the viewer''.”

In April 1974, Galerie Juarez opened Charles Levier's 12th exhibition, titled "My Island New works in this show included recent flora studies, landscapes and figures of his native Corsica”.

Monte D'Oro
In 1974, Charles Levier, who had dabbled with movie-making when he lived in Hollywood, decided to write a script for a movie. He gathered a cameraman from Denmark, a producer from his hometown, and actors from New York and Paris. Songs for the movie where written by Daniel Berretta  (****). When all the elements came together, he began filming during the Spring of 1975. He claimed he wanted a new adventure, a different creative expression. The entire movie, named “Monte D’Oro” (the Mountain of Gold) was filmed on location, at the Ranch. It was a semi-erotic story was about a young American musician searching for the legend of the Mountain of Gold who ends up finding love and a few other experiences.

During the filming of Monte D’Oro, the house was bustling with actors, singers, cameras, set designers, dressmakers, sound engineers and photographers.

The editing and distribution of the movie proved to be challenging and, in the end, it was never sold or shown in theaters. Levier had put a tremendous amount of energy and some of his own money in the production, and he was disappointed that it was never released.

On 24 May - 18 Jun 1977 in Paris 9, at rue de Clichy Charles Levier had exhibition of his most recent paintings and watercolors together with exhibition of sculptural pottery of famous French actor, artist and sculptor Jean Marais.

Charles and Carroll eventually separated, and she went to live with her daughter in Paris before relocating to her family in California.

After their divorce a few years later, Charles married Marlit Wolfensteller, a German real estate broker from Westhampton, Long Island. They continued the cycle of travelling back and forth from the States to Corsica. Although his paintings were mostly sold in the U.S., they were sometimes exhibited in galleries in Paris, and often in Genève.

Also, from 1970 to 1990 Levier constantly had exhibitions in Ajaccio, Corsica in hotel Sofitel or in restaurant Le Week-End.

Levier’s daughter Nancy - “''Every July or August my father would exhibit his paintings at the Hotel Sofitel, located on a beautiful point in the region of Porticcio. A glamorous opening preceded the show including guests such as the maire, Tino Rossi, a famous French singer of the 50’s 60’s, and countless Ajaccio personalities. During one of the openings, Charles decided to arrive on his twin brother, Jean-Jeróme’s boat. He imagined it would make a grand entrance into the marina of the hotel. Unfortunately, the boat ran out of gas, and Charles was very late to his own “vernissage.”  Everyone was worried except him, he thought it was epic”''.

1980s - 1990s
In 80’s Levier was influenced by art dealers and their client’s preferences and his vibrant reds and yellows gave way to softer shades of pinks and blues.

When Charles wasn’t making movies, putting together booklets of his work, or creating prints and lithographs, he would work all nights and afternoons on his oils and watercolors. He painted his canvasses in his makeshift studio which was a small room overlooking the barn and the mountains. He did his watercolors on a part of the dining room table while watching the news, a western or a war movie.

In 1988 in New York City Levier printed series of limited-edition Lithographs titled L’Harlequin, Les Nuits de Paris, Dimanche Soir, Dimanche Adres-Midi, and Le Port.

His iconic lithographs “Miss New York” and “Miss Liberty” also were printed about that time.

In 1999 Levier had his last lifetime time exhibition in Galerie Cigarini, Geneva.

2000s
In the early 2000s Levier contracted lung cancer, and although his operations were successful at Sloan-Kettering, he somehow lost his “joie de vivre.”  He often felt too weak to paint and refused to do any exercise except going up a small flight of stairs in his Westhampton house. He finally decided to have a second operation to close the cavity which was successful. However, Levier felt very weak and became addicted to pain medications, which made him more disabled. Painting was what made him happy, and spending most of his days in bed watching television was slowly killing him. When he had first contracted the disease, his wife Marlit had left him, so his daughter and other family members all pitched in to give him as much care as they could.

Last years of his life Levier wanted to live full time in Corsica on the ranch with his dog. He was mostly alone except for the visits of dear friends and neighbors and a couple that lived in a little house, he built nearby, taking care of the ranch and him. He was able to paint again but he knew the magic had somewhat dissipated, and this deeply troubled him. Also, the odor of his beloved red wine now repelled him, as well as cigarettes which he once chain smoked. When his daughter came to visit, he would complain, “C’est la fin, je suis fouttu,” which means “it’s the end, I’m doomed.”  Indeed, he had given up mentally and physically. Although Marlit had returned to him on a part-time basis, the aftermath of the last operation and the pain killers had stolen his energy and spirit.

French Modernist painter, Charles Levier, died September 3rd, 2003 in Ajaccio Notre Dame de la Misericorde Hospital. His ashes are resting in the family chapel, near his mother’s tomb, as requested, on the Route des Sanguinaires in  to Ajaccio, Corsica.

The following April 2004, sixth grandchild of Charles Levier Nicholas-Charles was born.

Theme exhibitions (selection)



 * 1946 Galerie Constantine, Lyon
 * 1949 Galerie Colisee, Paris
 * 1950-1967 Gallery Martin Lowitz Los Angeles
 * 1955 Gallery du Colisee Paris
 * 1957 Galerie Herve Paris
 * 1958-1960 Juarez Gallery Palm Beach
 * 1959-1965 Van-Diemen – Lilienfeld Galleries NY
 * 1960 Gead Gallery Rio di Janeiro
 * 1963 Cord Gallery Southampton
 * 1963 Richelle Gallery Saint-Louis
 * 1963 Atlanta Museum
 * 1965 Juarez Gallery Palm Beach
 * 1967-1970 Emile Walter Gallery NY
 * 1967 Denver Art Galleries, Denver, Colorado
 * 1969-1974 Juarez Gallery Palm Beach, Florida
 * 1970 Wally F Findlay Gallery, Paris
 * 1970 NY, Chicago, Los Angeles, Palm Beach
 * 1970 Sloane & Co Washington
 * 1972 Wally F Findlay Gallery, NY and Paris
 * 1973 Selected Artist Gallery, NY
 * 1973 Emile Walter Gallery Vancouver
 * 1973 Gallery 65, Cannes
 * 1975 Galerie Lacydon, Marseille “Peintures, Aquarelles sur la Corse”
 * 1978 Galerie Simone Van Dormael Bruxelles
 * 1979 Gallery Juares, Los Angeles
 * 1979 Galerie des Iles d’Or Hyeres
 * 1979 Galerie Etienne Sassie
 * 1979 Av. Matignon, Paris
 * 1999 Gallery Cigarini Geneva