Levene’s poignant expression in his self portrait is beautifully wrought. The slightly down-turned eyes denote introspection, a visionary look. The mature evocation of a subtle state of mind is rare in a young artist. His long face inclines almost imperceptibly downwards, adding to the feeling of sadness. The face’s sandy pallor stands out against the reddish hair and the deep background black (itself suffused with an earlier layer of red). The painting shows the influence of Bomberg and Mead who attended the Slade as ‘a mature student and practised disciple of Bomberg’s’, where Levene also studied. Levene’s paintings of people have been few and far between. A 1975 self portrait shows him seated in a red armchair, in semi-profile, a rather quizzical, diminutive figure within a coolly luminous setting apparently composed of distinct yet melodiously integrated still life components: a large mirror, a vase of flowers, a landscape painting on the white wall.