February 21, 1922 - July 3, 2011

Claire Levitt was a founding member of Chatham County Open Studio Tour, begun in 1993.

Here are her words on her involvement with photography:

"I have been photographing since 1975. I never had formal training but learned my technique from mentors at a camera club on Long Island. Their emphasis was on "making a picture" rather than just "taking a picture". This has been my mantra.

Although some of my subjects are representative, I seek objects which will challenge the viewer and arouse his curiosity as to what the photo represents. I try to keep my photographs very simple (KISS) by abstracting from the subject matter. I am enamored of texture, repetition, oxidation of colors. This takes me to scrap yards, outdoor auto parts yards, and the back roads of North Carolina for
subject matter.

Photographing gives me the opportunity to be creative. It is a passion - similar to an artist who stares at a blank canvas and produces a painting where none existed before. I can compare that to blank film on which I hope to produce a subject which will reflect my interests, and encourage the viewer to stop and stare and share my love of this craft."

About the Artist:
Claire Levitt has exhibited at the Durham Arts Guild, Horace Williams House, ArtsCenter of Carrboro, Sawmill Center for the visual Arts, as well as in one-person and group exhibitions in Virginia. She is primarily self-taught, honing her craft with over thirty years of experience and attendance at numerous photography workshops.

This is dscription of one of Claire's
solo exhibits in 2007:

"Finding Form seeks an order in parts of larger things. Claire Levitt’s architectural photographs often contain strongly abstract compositions. Other images are of oxidized metal found in scrap yards, richly sensual in a widely ranging color palette resembling paintings. Once pulled in, the viewer is confronted with the reality of what we are seeing. With a sensitive eye, Claire deciphers the striking image that emerges out of the larger, often overlooked, whole. Claire’s photographs are printed using the Cibachrome, now Ilfachrome, printing process.
Claire describes art as being everywhere when the time is taken to truly see. “I have photographed sections of dumpsters, oil barrels, gas tanks, and camouflaged army trucks, subjects thought to be too mundane to be worthy of consideration. Not so!”
“Now in my octogenarian years, I hope to be able continue this pursuit. But because I don’t want to take any chance, I have taken up welding.” Claire promises to bring several metal sculptures for display."