He uses small toys and props with dramatic lighting to construct miniature environments for subject matters varying from war scenes to voyeurism to racial and political references to American pop culture.

[1] Levinthal's major series include Hitler Moves East (1972–1975), Modern Romance (1983–1985), Wild West (1986–1989), Desire (1991–1992), Blackface (1995–1998), Barbie (1997–1998), Baseball (1998–2004), and History (2010–2018).

Levinthal's major series include Hitler Moves East (1972–1975), Modern Romance (1983–1985), Wild West (1986–1989), Desire (1991–1992), Blackface (1995–1998), Barbie (1997–1998), Baseball (1998–2004), and History (2010–2018).

[7] His politically charged series, Blackface, consists of close-ups of black memorabilia, household objects infused with African-American stereotypes, and caused such a controversy that the Institute of Contemporary Art of Philadelphia was forced to cancel the exhibition while still in its early planning stages.

I began to realize that by carefully selecting the depth of field and making it narrow, I could create a sense of movement and reality that was in fact not there.