Arguably, one of the North’s most neglected painters, Emmanuel Levy was born in Manchester in 1900. He studied in Paris and at the Manchester School of Art in 1918, along with L.S.Lowry, under the instruction of Adolphe Valette. In 1928 Valette returned to France and on his recommendation, Levy succeeded him.
Levy’s first exhibition was in 1924 at the Manchester City Gallery which was to be the first of many both at home and abroad. Theres was a major retrospective exhibition at Salford City Art Gallery in 1948.He lectured at Manchester and Stockport College of Art during the 1950′s and 1960′s whilst continuing to receive commissions for portraits. He married Ursula Leo, one of his students, who continued to paint under her own name.
His work is in the following public collections: National Portrait Gallery, London; The Art Galleries of Manchester, Salford, Preston, Stockport; The Tel Aviv and Ein Harod Museums.
Emmanuel Levy died in 1986 aged 85.
Picture: courtesy Gateway Gallery, Macclesfield.