13 Facts About Fay Kleinman

Fay Kleinman was known by her married names, Fay Skurnick, and then Fay Levenson.

The medium of most of the works Kleinman created is oil on canvas, but she produced some mixed-media work and watercolors.

Fay Kleinman exhibited in museums in New York and Massachusetts and in galleries throughout the country.

Fay Kleinman was the co-founder of the Becket Arts Center in Becket, Massachusetts with Tully Filmus and Emanuel Levenson.

Fay Kleinman studied at the American Artists School: murals with Anton Refregier, painting with Jean Liberte, and sculpture with Milton Hebald.

Fay Kleinman took classes through the WPA, City College of New York, and the National Academy of Design.

Fay Kleinman painted portraits of her daughter and both her grandsons.

Fay Kleinman was best known for her "Zayde" series, paintings created from sketches her father did for her daughter based on stories her daughter, then three, made up for him.

Fay Kleinman painted her own cats and those of friends and did humorous sketches of cats in assorted situations.

Fay Kleinman was recognized for her mixed-media work, which sometimes uitilized wallpaper remnants or tissue paper.

Fay Kleinman survived two husbands, Jack Skurnick, who died in 1952 and was the father of Davida, known as Davi Napoleon.

Fay Kleinman later married Emanuel Levenson, a pianist and music director of an opera company who taught music at The New School in New York City.

Fay Kleinman was born in the Bronx, New York, where she lived until 1958, when she moved to Brooklyn Heights, in New York City.