Obituary - Death of Harry Levinson - Film-maker, carpenter and iconoclast

Published: 10 March 2011
by DAN CARRIER

IT was a sign of his character that when Harry Levinson, who has died aged 76, found an error in a paper published by Albert Einstein, he carefully checked out the equation in question and published his findings on the origins of relativity theory in a science journal. 

With a degree in maths and physics, he taught in the United States and London, but was also known for his love of painting and film-making. Harry covered his studio in Archway in trompe l’oeil, the art of creating images that trick the viewer. 

Harry was born in Glasgow in 1935, graduated from the university in 1957 and taught maths and theoretical physics at Cornell University. He moved to London and began to research theoretical nuclear physics. In the 1960s, he retrained with the BBC, focusing on making educational programmes. He had a stint as a producer for the Horizon series, and went on to teach film and TV studies at North East London Polytechnic. 

His friend, Liz Block, a neighbour in Lissenden Gardens, Parliament Hill, recalls: “When the digital era arrived, he took a short course in digital film-making and opened Highgate Digital Arts. When challenged on his knowledge of digital, he said: ‘The principles of film-making never change.’

“His scathing – and often unprintable – comments on works of modern art convulsed his friends and sometimes attracted strangers, who followed him around galleries. He was an iconoclast to the core.” 

Recognising his enjoyment of working with his hands, he completed a City and Guilds certificate in carpentry and found work at Westminster Council as a carpenter. 

He went on to establish Hampstead Decorative Arts and his furniture was soon seen at Harrods and Liberty. His book, The Pleasure of the Home: Paper & Paints, was published in the UK and USA. 

At a celebration of his life at Highgate Literary and Scientific Institution, friends celebrated his Scottish and Jewish roots with canapés that included chicken liver and haggis pâté.