“Levana”
30″ x 22″, lithograph on BFK Rives Paper with stamping (signed, numbered 78/125) (1966)
I have a special connection to Gemini G.E.L., the famous print workshop based in Los Angeles. It was co-founded by (distant) relatives of mine, and so my grandparents actually had a fair number of outstanding Gemini pieces in their collection (some of which now belong to my parents). Once I got into art collecting, I decided quickly that I wanted a Gemini piece of my own — but finding the right opportunity was difficult.
“Levana”, the Roman goddess of childbirth, is the only edition Ben Shahn ever did with Gemini. It is one of the first pieces Gemini ever produced (in its first year of existence), and one of Shahn’s last, as he died just three years later. Though deceptively simple, it has a fascinating texture to it — almost looking like it was drawn as barbed wire — and her skeptical facial expression certainly captures the “I’m responsible for what now?” sentiment that came attached to bringing our first child into the world.
David Schraub 