John Harrison Levee

John Harrison Levée was an American-born painter, known for creating works in a spontaneous, abstract expressionist style, marked by brilliant colouration and often with the addition of elements of collage. He was born in LA and initially studied Philosophy at the UCLA. Levée took up the role of aviator in World War II and was involved in the liberation of France – a country with which he would make lifelong connections. He undertook his studies in art in both the US and Paris, at Académie Julian. Levée began exhibiting in the French capital with significant success, gaining a reputation as one of the leading American artists in Paris during the post-war period, together with Sam Francis.

Levée’s early works were inspired by the New York-based abstract expressionist artists, such as Kooning and Pollock – a mode he returned to in the 1960s after experimenting with a more geometric, hard-edge, abstract style. His work quickly garnered interest from international museums and galleries, with shows held at several prestigious institutions, such as MOMA and the Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, among others. Today, his paintings and drawings can be found in key permanent collections worldwide, including MOMA, the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, and the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris.