Levine, David

David Levine (1926-2009) was, plain and simple, one of the greatest American caricaturists in the latter half of the twentieth century. Employing a line style straight out of 19th and early 20th century British illustration (Linley Sambourne, anyone?), Levine created a style of caricature that was often imitated, but rarely surpassed.

I was thrilled to finally be able to meet Levine in October 2001, at the Ohio State University cartoon festival. I sat next to David during one of the presentations, and we chatted about Brooklyn and the men's clothing business, something he was familiar with through his father, and me through mine. A very nice man, and hell of an artist.