Life in Italy in 1948 Through Ivan Dmitri’s Beautiful Shots

Ivan Dmitri (1900-1968), or Levon West, was well-known for his portrayals in color photography, watercolors and etchings. Dmitri developed an interest in art, but he chose to major in business administration at his father’s insistence. It was the New York Times’ publication of his etching of The Spirit of St. Louis upon Charles Lindbergh’s arrival in Paris that boosted his career as an artist. As one of the first artists to work with color photography, his interest brought recognition in the new medium, and to keep his two artistic fields apart, West used the name Ivan Dmitri for his photographic work. An ardent advocate for photography, Dmitri assisted in establishing one of the first photography exhibits at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art and founded Photography in the Fine Arts in 1959 to gain acceptance of photography as an art medium.

Let’s take a look at Italy in 1948 captured by Dmitri:

Couples walk at dusk in Florence, Italy, 1948.

A street view taken from a car in Florence, Italy, 1948.

A man riding a Vespa in Florence, Italy, 1948.

A couple on a Vespa in Florence, Italy, 1948.

People ride their bikes in Florence, Italy, 1948.

A couple rides their bikes in Florence, Italy, 1948.

A group of men stop and talk to a fisherman on the Gulf of Salerno in Salerno, Italy, May 1948.

Two sunbathers on the beach in Capri, Italy, May 1948.

Street view taken from a car in Pisa, Italy, July 1948.

A little boy on his bike stops at a local newsstand in Pisa, Italy, July 1948.

A photographer rests on a bench in front of the leaning tower in Pisa, Italy, July 1948.

Portrait of a young man in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, Italy, July 1948.

A couple talk in the street in Rome, Italy, July 1948.

Sheep walk along the road from Rome to Siena, Italy, July 1948.

A farmer and oxen pulling a wagon on the road from Rome to Siena, Italy, July 1948.

A man with his cart ready to sell in the streets of Siena, Italy, July 1948.

Two men and a donkey stand by the Piazza in Siena, Italy, July 1948.

A woman washing in a fountain in Assisi, Italy, August 1948.

A sidewalk cafe in Assisi, Italy, August 1948.

Sunbathers and boaters on Lake Como in Lombardy, Italy, August 1948.

Sunbathers and boaters on Lake Como in Lombardy, Italy, August 1948.

Little girls pick potatoes during the potato harvest in Perugia, Italy, August 1948.

A gondolier in Venice, Italy, August 1948.

Men sit in a Gondolas in Venice, Italy, August 1948.

A silhouette view of a Gondolier in Venice, Italy, August 1948.

Riva degli Schiavoni in Venice, Italy, August 1948.

A Woodie car overlooking the Bay of Naples and Mount Vesuvius, in Naples, Italy, August 1948.

A scenic view on the Italian Riviera in Portofino, Italy, August 1948.

Boats pulled ashore on the Italian Riviera in Portofino, Italy, August 1948.

Beach huts and sunbathers on a beach on the Italian Riviera, August 1948.

A street cafe in the Italian Riviera of Camogli, Italy, August 1948.

A street cafe in the Italian Riviera of Camogli, Italy, August 1948.

Street vendor, Naples, Italy, November 1948.

A woman looks out her window in Naples, Italy, November 1948.

Two men and a dog look out their window in Naples, Italy, November 1948.

Couples in rowboats on the Bay of Naples, in Naples, Italy, November 1948.

Men in a sailboat on a sunny day on the Bay of Naples, in Naples, Italy, November 1948.

People gather in the Piazza Plebiscito in Naples, Italy, November 1948.