Levon West

American, (1900–1968)

Born Levon Fairchild Assadoorian to Armenian immigrants. He later changed his last name to West due to World War I. West studied at the Art Students League of New York. Levon West adopted the pen name "Ivan Dmitri," though he continued to use the name "Levon West" for his non-photographic work. Under his pen name, his color photograph of an race car driver seated in his race car became the first color photographic cover on The Saturday Evening Post magazine on May 29, 1937.