Posted 13 years ago
LayManOfArt
(22 items)
I am seeking information on a photographer by the name of Geo. L. Levison.
I have an original Art Deco photograph, which portrays the courtyard of a building (possibly a hotel?) - dated 10/1939.
If anyone can supply further knowledge on the photographer or possibly the location/history of the building it would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
Hi from Sydney Australia. Most of the hits I got on Google abou George L Levison were about San Francisco. Another theme was Jews against Zionism. But when I googled "Court of the Moon" I came across a post card from Golden Gate International Exposition, which was held on an artificial island near San Francisco in 1939-1940.
The exposition was the Pacific Coast's answer to the 1939-40 New York's World Fair. It was held on Treasure Island in the Bay. The shot you have looks like it is a shot of one of the buildings mentioned: either the Palace of the Mines, Metals and Machinery or the Palace of Homes and Gardens.
From what I can tell it might be the former from the angle, but .....?
There's a ton of postcards on the fair at flickr.
I like this photo. Are you interested in selling it?
stunning!!!!
Exquisite Composition !! Very Eye Catching !
Vetriao50 got there faster than I did. Here's another image of the "Court of the Moon". https://www.cardcow.com/386922/golden-gate-international-exposition-court-moon-1939-san-francisco/ Not much info, but maybe the match of the pic and the place/date will lead you where you want to go. I also found the George L Levison reference (Jews against Zionism, foreign relations consultant on behalf of the American Counsil of Judaism) that would have been a few years after the world fair (not completely unlikely to be related). It could become a really interesting piece if the two were tied together...a fun one to do further research. A George L Levison was born 1907 (in California), died 1985. So he would have been 30s at the time of the picture. If this is your photographer, his biography could be as interesting as the artwork https://books.google.com/books?id=-gZM4CrDhskC&pg=PA138&lpg=PA138&dq=george+l+levison&source=bl&ots=SW0Jvh44Nw&sig=VgegtAtqNRy1XwjGx_dJTczLQ20&hl=en&sa=X&ei=33oDVdfRKJOwsATJn4Fw&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=george%20l%20levison&f=false.