Ivan Dmitri (or Dmitre) (1900 – 1968), born Levon West, was an artist from the U.S. State of North Dakota. Born in Centerville, South Dakota, his father was a Congregational minister who immigrated from Armenia. The family changed their name to West after arriving in the United States. Dmitri later adopted the pen name Ivan Dmitri.[1]
Levon West moved often as a boy, as his father preached in a series of North Dakota towns. His father was pastor at the Congregational Church in Glen Ullin from 1914 to 1918, when the family moved to Harvey.[1] West graduated form high school in Harvey as valedictorian,[2] and graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1924.[1] He wanted to take almost entirely art courses but his father insisted that he major in business administration.[2]
West served in the United States Navy during World War I.[2]
After Charles Lindbergh's famous transatlantic flight in 1927, West memorialized the event with a popular etching of his plane the Spirit of St. Louis.[1] This led to a series of successful etchings and national prominence.[1] He was also a skilled watercolorist.
When he began working with color photography, Levon West he adopted the pen name "Ivan Dmitri," though he continued to use the name Levon West for his non-photographic works.[1] As Ivan Dmitri, he helped to gain acceptance for photography as an art medium, helping to establish one of the first photography exhibits at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. Dmitri felt that such a move was necessary in order for the public to treat photography as art, rather than just something reserved smaller mediums like books, magazines, and newspapers.[3] In 1959, Ivan Dmitri founded Photography in the Fine Arts.[2]
West was a recipient of the North Dakota Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award in April 1962, the third person so inducted.[2]