Blizzard Coming

Born in North Dakota, Levon West studied business at the University of Minnesota and was bound for Harvard when he stopped in New York and met etcher Joseph Pennell at the Art Students League. At his encouragement, West abandoned his business education to become an artist and studied with Pennell for two years. West loved rugged outdoor landscapes, and after a trip to Spain to work on illustrations for a book on that country, he returned to his native region for scenes of inspiration. Blizzard Coming, with its spare use of line, convincingly renders atmosphere, energy, and movement, and thus captures the severity and bleakness of the harsh winters West witnessed during his time in the Dakotas, Minnesota, and Canada.