Eli Levin a.k.a. Jo Basiste
Eli Levin (1938 - current) is a realist painter and printmaker. He is prolific in the mediums of egg tempera and watercolor painting, as well as intaglio printmaking. He came to Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1964.
Eli is the son of novelist Meyer Levin and Mable Schamp Doctorate in Chemistry. He graduated from Music and Art High School 1956, earned a B.A. in Literature from the New School for Social Research, NYC 1961, where he also studied painting from the model with Raphael Soyer five mornings a week for two years. He earned an M.A. in Art at the University of Wisconsin, Madison 1965, and an M.A. in Humanities from St. John’s College, Santa Fe, New Mexico 1991.
He is known for his bar scenes and strong social commentary taking after the leftist artists of the 1930’s. And also for running a drawing group for fifty years that continues to this day as well as co-founding the Santa Fe Etching Club in 1981, plus teaching, writing many art reviews, and a few art books.
