Severo Antonelli
Encyclopedia
Severo Antonelli was an Italian-American photographer born in Fara Filiorum Petri, Chieti
, Italy
.
, London
, Barcelona
, Rotterdam
, Brussels
, Rome
, and Tokyo
. Considered a major "futurist" artist and photographer, as well as a "photo-picturalist", he built his international reputation and career on his imaginative portrayals of the human figure and face, works that range from playful to provocative; he was also renowned for his industrial and commercial art.
. His work is also part of the permanent collection at Woodmere Art Museum
.
, the widow of computer pioneer John Mauchly
and herself one of the first computer programmers. They enjoyed nearly nine years of marriage before he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. He died in 1995, just before their tenth wedding anniversary.
Severo is a first cousin of retired Major League Baseball pitcher, Johnny Antonelli
.
Chieti
Chieti is a city and comune in Central Italy, 200 km northeast of Rome. It is the capital of the Province of Chieti in the Abruzzo region...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
Early years
Antonelli arrived in Philadelphia with his family when he was fourteen. His father, a cabinet maker working for the Victor company, died when he was seventeen. Antonelli left school to support the family. In the evenings he attended classes at the Graphic Sketch Club in Philadelphia.Studio
In 1925 he opened his own studio in Philadelphia. He received international acclaim during the late 1920's and early 1930's. Antonelli's photographs received top awards at major shows in ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
, Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, and Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
. Considered a major "futurist" artist and photographer, as well as a "photo-picturalist", he built his international reputation and career on his imaginative portrayals of the human figure and face, works that range from playful to provocative; he was also renowned for his industrial and commercial art.
Community leader
Antonelli was a legendary figure in the history of the Philadelphia Italian-American community, enhancing the Italian contribution to American culture and enriching the history of photography in Philadelphia. He was one of the founding members of The Da Vinci Art Alliance located and still active in Philadelphia. In 1938 he founded a school of photography both to train professional photographers and to train military photographers. He was its president until 1974; it continues as the Antonelli Institute Art & Photography (Erdenheim, PA).Smithsonian
Severo Antonelli's work was featured (twice) in what remains the largest one-man photography exhibits ever held at the Smithsonian InstitutionSmithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
. His work is also part of the permanent collection at Woodmere Art Museum
Woodmere Art Museum
Woodmere Art Museum, located in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has a collection of paintings, prints, sculpture and photographs focusing on artists from the Delaware Valley and includes works by Thomas Pollock Anshutz, Severo Antonelli, Jasper Francis Cropsey , Daniel...
.
Marriage and Death
In 1985, nearly eighty years old, Antonelli married Kay MauchlyKathleen Antonelli
Kathleen "Kay" McNulty Mauchly Antonelli was one of the six original programmers of the ENIAC, the first general-purpose electronic digital computer.-Early life and education:...
, the widow of computer pioneer John Mauchly
John Mauchly
John William Mauchly was an American physicist who, along with J. Presper Eckert, designed ENIAC, the first general purpose electronic digital computer, as well as EDVAC, BINAC and UNIVAC I, the first commercial computer made in the United States.Together they started the first computer company,...
and herself one of the first computer programmers. They enjoyed nearly nine years of marriage before he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. He died in 1995, just before their tenth wedding anniversary.
Severo is a first cousin of retired Major League Baseball pitcher, Johnny Antonelli
Johnny Antonelli
John August Antonelli is an American former left-handed starting pitcher who played for the Boston and Milwaukee Braves, New York and San Francisco Giants, and Cleveland Indians....
.