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Lot Essay
Political activist, film maker, music manager and art lover Harold Leventhal is credited with revolutionizing the folk music world, bringing its politicized message to millions during a time of McCarthyism and the Civil Rights movement. Discovering, managing and growing artists including The Weavers, Peter Seeger, Johnny Cash, Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Arlo Guthrie, and Ravi Shankar, Leventhal divided his time between music and politics, at one point meeting with Martin Luther King Jr. during the1960s to discuss the adoption of civil rights.
Born in New York in 1919, Leventhal lost his first job working in a factory for attempting to organize a union, only to be hired as an assistant by the songwriter Irving Berlin, beginning his long and laudable career in music. Leventhal remained a key figure in music throughout his life acting as an agent and friend for his artists and helping to coordinate major concerts and music events. He was well known for his successful attempts to secure fair and lucrative contracts for female and minority musicians and he was one of the very first to introduce American audiences to world music from the sounds of Jacques Brel to Nana Mouskouri to Enrico Macias.
Harold Leventhal's relationship with India began with his decision to enlist in the US army during World War II, and he was stationed there from 1944 to 1946. His experiences in India left a profound and deep imprint on Leventhal encouraging him to keep India alive in his life though politics, music and art over the following 60 years. Living in India during a historic period of political activism, Leventhal became very engrossed in the development of India's independence from Imperial rule by the British, realized in 1947. It was in December of 1945, that the collector, then residing in Calcutta, read a newspaper article stating the All India Congress, including its figureheads Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi, would be meeting there for a conference. His continuing interest in politics and fascination with India lead him to secure entrance to the convention; an invitation that introduced him personally to Nehru and in time, Gandhi.
According to Leventhal, upon his introduction to Nehru,
"I noticed that he [Nehru] was a chain smoker and then I offered to bring him a carton of cigarettes, which I did later on. I waited around and sure enough I was paged and Nehru got on the phone and told me I can come by within an hour or so, which I did. And then I became friendly with him. It was he that gave me a letter of introduction to Gandhi, which was unusual.My experience in India was one of the highlights of my life. When I returned to the United States I helped organize a group called The American Friends of Indiafor all the years I have maintained a steady interest in India. I have made repeated visits back there [and] I have able to gather a very good collection of Indian Contemporary Paintings."(Interview with Harold Leventhal at Carnegie Hall, Tribute to Harold Leventhal Concert, November 29th 2003)
Leventhal's relationship with art and India continued in his friendships with notable South Asian artists including Maqbool Fida Husain and Satish Gujral. He helped to coordinate a number of ground-breaking Contemporary Indian exhibitions in the U.S., showing work by Jamini Roy, Husain and Gujral, enactments of theatre by Rabindranath Tagore and screenings of work by the filmmaker Satyajit Ray. Harold Leventhal's personal collection portrays his profound appreciation and friendship with some of India's leading artists and we are proud to offer items from the collection of this pioneer in music and supporter of the arts.
In this work, entitled Jaisalmer after the famous city in Rajasthan, Maqbool Fida Husain uses a rich palette of yellows and oranges to depict what is commonly called "The Golden City" of India. In fact the stark cliffs and molten sky resemble closely the landscape of the city.
Born in New York in 1919, Leventhal lost his first job working in a factory for attempting to organize a union, only to be hired as an assistant by the songwriter Irving Berlin, beginning his long and laudable career in music. Leventhal remained a key figure in music throughout his life acting as an agent and friend for his artists and helping to coordinate major concerts and music events. He was well known for his successful attempts to secure fair and lucrative contracts for female and minority musicians and he was one of the very first to introduce American audiences to world music from the sounds of Jacques Brel to Nana Mouskouri to Enrico Macias.
Harold Leventhal's relationship with India began with his decision to enlist in the US army during World War II, and he was stationed there from 1944 to 1946. His experiences in India left a profound and deep imprint on Leventhal encouraging him to keep India alive in his life though politics, music and art over the following 60 years. Living in India during a historic period of political activism, Leventhal became very engrossed in the development of India's independence from Imperial rule by the British, realized in 1947. It was in December of 1945, that the collector, then residing in Calcutta, read a newspaper article stating the All India Congress, including its figureheads Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi, would be meeting there for a conference. His continuing interest in politics and fascination with India lead him to secure entrance to the convention; an invitation that introduced him personally to Nehru and in time, Gandhi.
According to Leventhal, upon his introduction to Nehru,
"I noticed that he [Nehru] was a chain smoker and then I offered to bring him a carton of cigarettes, which I did later on. I waited around and sure enough I was paged and Nehru got on the phone and told me I can come by within an hour or so, which I did. And then I became friendly with him. It was he that gave me a letter of introduction to Gandhi, which was unusual.My experience in India was one of the highlights of my life. When I returned to the United States I helped organize a group called The American Friends of Indiafor all the years I have maintained a steady interest in India. I have made repeated visits back there [and] I have able to gather a very good collection of Indian Contemporary Paintings."(Interview with Harold Leventhal at Carnegie Hall, Tribute to Harold Leventhal Concert, November 29th 2003)
Leventhal's relationship with art and India continued in his friendships with notable South Asian artists including Maqbool Fida Husain and Satish Gujral. He helped to coordinate a number of ground-breaking Contemporary Indian exhibitions in the U.S., showing work by Jamini Roy, Husain and Gujral, enactments of theatre by Rabindranath Tagore and screenings of work by the filmmaker Satyajit Ray. Harold Leventhal's personal collection portrays his profound appreciation and friendship with some of India's leading artists and we are proud to offer items from the collection of this pioneer in music and supporter of the arts.
In this work, entitled Jaisalmer after the famous city in Rajasthan, Maqbool Fida Husain uses a rich palette of yellows and oranges to depict what is commonly called "The Golden City" of India. In fact the stark cliffs and molten sky resemble closely the landscape of the city.