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Vincent Cavallaro

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Vincent Cavallaro (November 8, 1912 - May 22, 1985) was a painter, sculptor and abstract artist. He was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts and died in New York City. He was a United States citizen, raised and educated in Italy (Milan).

He has been honored in the States with an award from the MoMA (War Poster, 1941), commissions from the National Gallery of Art ("Man in Space" program, 1968), and commissions to create many public and private murals and monuments individuals and institutions, including public schools in the New York City area (circa 1963 - 1975).[1]

Public installations and permanent collections

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2007 photo: Man in Space, Glass Mosaic at PS 9, Manhattan, Vincent Cavallaro, 1965
  • 1962 — Mosaic, Brigadier General Casimir Pulaski, on Horseback, With His Aides, Casimir Pulaski Elementary School, PS 304, Brooklyn.
  • 1963 — Bas-relief for a Main Hallway of the Horizon Building, New Jersey.
  • 1965 — Glass Mosaic, Man in Space (8 x 21 feet), Public School 9, Upper West Side, Manhattan.
  • 1966 — Bronze sculpture (location unknown, but thought to be a high school in Queens)
  • 1967 — Sculpture, Man in Space, Bronze (4 feet x 10 feet x 8 inches). Relief composed of geometrically-shaped figures enclosed in geometric spaces conveys the theme of man in space and the education of science — located at Peter Rouget Junior High School 88, 544 Seventh Avenue, courtyard entrance, east wall, Brooklyn. The sculpture cost $10,000. Final approval was given July 10, 1967. Condition: Surveyed 1992 October. Treatment needed.[2]
  • 1968 — In cooperation with the National Gallery of Art, NASA commissioned Cavallaro to give his artistic perspective of Saturn V Apollo launch. Cavallaro painted nine works, all now in the possession of the National Air and Space Museum, Garber Facility. He was one of dozens of nationally known artist who had participated in the NASA Art Program, which chronicled the wonders, risks and triumphs of space exploration through the eyes of artists.
  1. Ignition Sequence (1968), painting, oil and acrylic on canvas; current owner: National Air and Space Museum (A19750915000)
  2. Power To Go, painting, mixed media on canvas; current owner: National Air and Space Museum (A19760292000)
  3. After Image, acrylic on canvas; current owner: National Air and Space Museum (A19781061000)
  4. Untitled I (1967–68), painting, mixed media on canvas; current owner: National Air and Space Museum (A19810581000)
  5. Untitled II (1967–68), painting, mixed media on canvas; current owner: National Air and Space Museum (A19810582000)
  6. Untitled III (1967–68), painting, mixed media on canvas; current owner: National Air and Space Museum (A19810583000)
  7. Untitled IV (1967–68), painting, mixed media on canvas; current owner: National Air and Space Museum (A19810584000)
  8. Untitled V (1967–68), painting, mixed media on canvas; current owner: National Air and Space Museum (A19810585000)
  9. Untitled VI, painting, mixed media on canvas; current owner: National Air and Space Museum (A19810586000)
  • 1969 — Outdoor Sculpture, Gemini, 1967–1969, bronze; base: concrete, painted (approximately 13 feet 2 inches x 4 feet 8 inches x 3 feet 6 inches; base: height 37 inches x diameter 11 feet). Inscription (on circle, side facing auditorium): Cavallaro (signed). Subject: Emblem — Zodiac. Located at John Dewey HS, Brooklyn, Brooklyn. The sculpture cost $30,000. Final approval was given October 14, 1969.
  • 1969 — Sculpture, Social Communication A five-panel abstract relief: hydrostone with epoxy paint (8 inches x 4 feet x 9 inches).[2] The sculpture cost $15,000. Final approval was given on Sept. 30, 1971. (location unknown, but thought to be a high school in Queens)
  • 1975 — Aluminum Sheets Painted With Enamel, Untitled PS 142, Amelia Castro School, Manhattan.

Bygone Installations

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Designed by Morris Lapidus, Loews Corporation built and opened the hotel in 1961. Lapidus gave the Gaucho room an Argentine flavor, where walls looked like cowhide, lamp fixtures were shaped like steer skulls and the ceiling was ornamented with cattle brands. The Gaucho was modeled on a restaurant of the same name at the Americana Hotel in Bal Harbour, Florida (now the Sheraton Bal Harbour).[3] Loews remodeled it in 2002, renaming it "Metropolitan." Loews sold it to Hilton Hotels Corporation in 2003, and is renamed it the "Doubletree Metropolitan." On March 29, 2005, the New York City Landmarks Commission designated the Summit Hotel as a Landmark.
  • 1966 — 30 lithographs for the Hilton Hotel, New York.

Selected Shows

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Publications

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  • 1979 — Cover: The Trojan Horse, The New York Quarterly (NYQR), Issue 24.
  • 1985 — After Image, (1978) (name not credited in publication), Chapter 7 of NASA research publication: Mary M. Connors, PhD, et al., Living Aloft, NASA.[14]

Family History

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Mr. Cavallaro was married to Fulvia Burbi (b Oct 22, 1916, Milan, Italy - d. April 17, 1967). His parents were Giovanni Cavallaro and Maria Giuseppa DeBenedetti. He completed a year of formal studies in art in 1933 at Brera Academy in Milan. Under the Italian spelling of his first name, "Vincenzo," he enlisted as a private in the U.S. Army Warrant Officers Program on April 15, 1942, at Fort Jay, Governors Island and served until 1946 (US Army Serial No. 32315213). His enlistment papers reflect that, among other things, he had one year of college and was working as a canvas cover repairman, animation artist, motion picture animation artist, model maker for motion pictures, and general artist. His enlistment papers also indicate that he was 5'7", 120 lbs. and married.[15]

References

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  1. ^ Exhibit Brochure, Vincent Cavallaro, Toninelli Arte Moderna, Milan (1968), Estate of Catherine Viviano, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution Archived 2020-11-08 at the Wayback Machine, New York
  2. ^ a b Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum Archived 2020-11-08 at the Wayback Machine, Washington, D.C.
  3. ^ 'Most Hated Hotel' Reclaims Its Floridian Flamboyance; Summit, Renamed Now, Going Back to Its Roots, The New York Times, November 8, 2000.
  4. ^ U.S. Treasury Department Defense Posters Go on View Today, The New York Times, July 16, 1941.
  5. ^ Gallery owned and operated by Henri (Henrietta Springer Ehrsam) (1908-1996), est 1957 in Alexandria, Virginia, moving ten years later to Washington, D.C., 21st and P streets. Gallery records from The Estate of Henrietta Ehrsam were given to the Smithsonian Archives of American Art, Washington, DC Archived 2007-07-24 at the Wayback Machine.
  6. ^ Cavallaro: Paintings and Isolani, Sculpture, The New York Times, November 13, 1960.
  7. ^ Exhibition at Highgate Gallery, ARTnews, v. 59 (December 1960) p. 18.
  8. ^ Exhibition at Highgate Gallery, Arts Magazine, v. 35 (December 1960) p. 63, The Art Digest, Inc., publisher (New York).
    "A peculiar brown textured background is used a little like a trade-mark in these nonobjective oils, and in front of it, multiple color planes, like a big plastic kaleidoscope play with light and pleasant weightlessness."
  9. ^ J.L. Hudson Gallery Records, 1962-1973, Smithsonian Archives of American Art Archived 2020-11-08 at the Wayback Machine. The Gallery had been established in 1963 by Joseph Lowthian Hudson, who wanted to bring art of top quality to Detroit, Michigan. The Gallery closed in 1974.
  10. ^ Jacob D. Weintraub (b. August 21, 1905 - d. April 21, 2000), Art Director.
  11. ^ Most of the gallery records from The Estate of Catherine Viviano were given to the Smithsonian Archives of American Art, New York Archived 2020-11-08 at the Wayback Machine.
  12. ^ Exhibition at Viviano Gallery , ARTnews, v. 68 (November 1969) p. 13.
    "Gemini IV juxtaposes the anthropological with synthetic by encasing a slab of abstract plaster refief in blue plastic and aluminum strips."
  13. ^ Concetta Nardin (b. 1939 - ) was the sole proprietor of Nardin Galleries.
  14. ^ After Image (1978), Acrylic on Canvas, 48-1/2 x 51 inches, donated by NASA to National Air and Space Museum, stored in the Garber Facility Archived 2007-08-09 at the Wayback Machine.
  15. ^ U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946, National Archives and Records Administration
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