Dorothy Marion LEVITTAge: 97 years1917–2014
- Name
- Dorothy Marion LEVITT
- Given names
- Dorothy Marion
- Surname
- LEVITT
- Married name
- Dorothy Marion BESKIND
| Birth | 1917 (5677) New York, New York State, USA - ניו יורק, ארה"ב |
| Occupation | Film Maker & Photographer Note: She studied at the Art Students League in the 1960s, and followed Barnett Newman to Positano during the summer to take painting classes there. Eventually, at the suggestion of her friend gallery owner Martha Jackson, she began video taping artists she knew, in their studios, and amassed an archive of 300 films and countless photographs of renowned artists including Louise Bourgeois, Robert Smithson and Andy Warhol. Eva Hesse, etc. Her exclusive video of Eva Hese was shown at the opening of that artists retrospectives at the San Francisco Musuem of Modern Art, the Tate Gallery London, and the Jewish Museum in New York.. In 2002 "Making Sense of the City; Films and Photograghs of artists in and around New York City" was published in connection with a show of her photographs at the University Gallery Leeds, UK. |
| Death | October 28, 2014 (Heshvan 4, 5775) (Age 97 years) New York, New York State, USA - ניו יורק, ארה"ב Address: Burial:
Beth Moses Cemetery,
Farmingdale, New York,
USA |
| Occupation | She studied at the Art Students League in the 1960s, and followed Barnett Newman to Positano during the summer to take painting classes there. Eventually, at the suggestion of her friend gallery owner Martha Jackson, she began video taping artists she knew, in their studios, and amassed an archive of 300 films and countless photographs of renowned artists including Louise Bourgeois, Robert Smithson and Andy Warhol. Eva Hesse, etc. Her exclusive video of Eva Hese was shown at the opening of that artists retrospectives at the San Francisco Musuem of Modern Art, the Tate Gallery London, and the Jewish Museum in New York.. In 2002 "Making Sense of the City; Films and Photograghs of artists in and around New York City" was published in connection with a show of her photographs at the University Gallery Leeds, UK. |
| Death | The Washington Post from Oct. 31 to Nov. 2, 2014
Dorothy Marion Levitt Beskind died on October 28, 2014. She was born in 1917 to Rebecca and Adolph Levitt, who was an entrepreneur and founder of the Doughnut Corporation of America, and grew up in New York and Great Neck, Long Island. She graduated from Dalton School and attended classes at Parsons School of Design. She married D. Herbert Beskind in 1939 and had three children, Ellen (Peter) Safir, Susan (Michael) Lelyveld, and Joanne Elkin, five grandchildren, Archie Smart, Roland Smart, Victor Lelyveld, Jesse Safir and Kate Elkin, and three great grandchildren Jack Smart, Gwen Smart and Grant Smart. Suburban life in Scarsdale did not hold much appeal to her, but she nevertheless helped to bring modern dance into the Scarsdale school system in the 1950s, and encouraged other forms of modern artistic expression. She studied at the Art Students League in the 1960s, and followed Barnett Newman to Positano during the summer to take painting classes there. Eventually, at the suggestion of her friend gallery owner Martha Jackson, she began video taping artists she knew, in their studios, and amassed an archive of 300 films and countless photographs of renowned artists including Louise Bourgeois, Robert Smithson and Andy Warhol. Eva Hesse, etc. Her exclusive video of Eva Hese was shown at the opening of that artists retrospectives at the San Francisco Musuem of Modern Art, the Tate Gallery London, and the Jewish Museum in New York.. In 2002 "Making Sense of the City; Films and Photograghs of artists in and around New York City" was published in connection with a show of her photographs at the University Gallery Leeds, UK. A graveside ceremony will took place on Thursday, October 29 at Beth Moses Cemetery in Farmingdale, New York. The Safir family will receive visitors at home, November 2 between 5 and 7 p.m.
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/washingtonpost/obituary.aspx?pid=173003929 |
| Death | The New York Times on Nov. 2, 2014
BESKIND--Dorothy M. Levitt, 97, notable photographer and film-maker died peacefully at home in Easthampton NY, family by her side. Cherished mother of Joanne Beskind Elkin, Susan B. Lelyveld (Michael), Ellen Safir (Peter), grandchildren Katherine, Victor, Archie, Roland, Jesse; longtime companion, Sidney Goldstein. Her 25 year marriage to D. Herbert Beskind ended in divorce. We will forever miss her bright light, keen eye and spare aesthetic, adventurous zest for life, the wisdom, warmth, love and sparkle she brought to ours. Daughter of the late Rebecca and Adolph Levitt, dubbed the "Doughnut King" for his invention of the automated donut machine, founder of Doughnut Corp of America; predeceased by sister Irene L. Morse, and twin brother David M. Levitt. Beskind produced an extensive archive of over 300 films and numerous photographs of renowned artists including Joseph Beuys, Keith Haring, Louise Bourgeois, Bob Morris, Eva Hesse, Alice Neel, and Andy Warhol. Her work has been shown at the Whitney, Tate Modern, SFMoMA, the Jewish Museum, Yale University, Kutztown, U. Leeds, UK., and Pentax Gallery Tokyo. Memorial service in New York, details to be announced.
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/nytimes/obituary.aspx?pid=173026644 |