GREAT FALLS — From June 9th, 2023 to December 13th, 2023, the Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art exhibited the works of Morton Levin as part of a display titled. ‘Il Maestro!’. The exhibit is meant to reflect on 100 years of Levin’s life and work.
Born in 1923, Morton Levin was a talented artist from an early age, considered to be a child prodigy. Over the years, he honed his craft in a number of mediums including but not limited to, painting, drawing, etchings, and carving. He served in the U.S. Army during World War Two, depicting what he saw on the battlefields using only a few colored pencils. He continue to master depictions of the human body and its condition over the decades, teaching his skills all over the country.
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“It was his life’s passion,” said Sarah Justice, the director at the Square. “He painted 6-7 days of the week his entire life.”
In the final days of his life, Levin took up residency in Butte, Montana, where he continue to create art until his death in 2020. Just one year later, Levin’s wife, Alanna Zrimsek, invited Sarah Justice, and the museum’s curator, Nicole Maria Evans, to their home in Butte where the two were introduced to the artist’s work.
Soon it was on display at the Square, the first assembly of its kind in a museum setting. Now, for (likely) the first time in the Squares’ history, a curation will travel outside of Montana. The collection of art is currently on display at the National Veteran’s Art Museum in Chicago, where it will reside until June 15th, 2024.
“I’m just really, really excited to see the Square's exhibition for probably the only time this has ever happened for Paris Gibson Square, for our work to actually leave the borders and go to a large city,” says Justice.
Both Sarah and Nicole will travel to Chicago to help present the works.
“It's talking about art history and how Morton Levin's work was influenced by different periods of art history,” says Justice. “What was going on in the wars at that time? Where was he drawing his inspiration and the connections between history and contemporary art today?”
Upon the conclusion of its Chicago viewing, the exhibit will again travel to galleries around Montana in 2026. It will make stops at the University of Montana, Montana State University, and the Holter Art Museum in Helena.
“We saw this exhibit come together and felt that it would be outstanding to bring it here to Great Falls and share with our community and beyond,” says Justice.
