Vincent Cavallaro
Encyclopedia
Vincent Cavallaro was a painter, sculptor and abstract artist. 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).
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.
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
).
He has been honored in the States with an award from the MoMA
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
(War Poster, 1941), commissions from the National Gallery of Art
National Gallery of Art
The National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden is a national art museum, located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, in Washington, DC...
("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).
Public installations and permanent collections
- 1962 — Mosaic, Brigadier General Casimir Pulaski, on Horseback, With His Aides, Casimir Pulaski Elementary School, PS 304, BrooklynBrooklynBrooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
. - 1963 — Bas-relief for a Main Hallway of the Horizon Building, New JerseyNew JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. - 1965 — Glass Mosaic, Man in Space (8 x 21 feet), Public School 9, Upper West SideUpper West SideThe Upper West Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, New York City, that lies between Central Park and the Hudson River and between West 59th Street and West 125th Street...
, ManhattanManhattanManhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. - 1966 — Bronze sculpture (location unknown, but thought to be a high school in QueensQueensQueens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
) - 1967 — Sculpture, Man in Space, Bronze (4 feet x 10 feet x 8 inches). ReliefReliefRelief is a sculptural technique. The term relief is from the Latin verb levo, to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is thus to give the impression that the sculpted material has been raised above the background plane...
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. - 1968 — In cooperation with the National Gallery of ArtNational Gallery of ArtThe National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden is a national art museum, located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, in Washington, DC...
, NASANASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
commissioned Cavallaro to give his artistic perspective of Saturn VSaturn VThe Saturn V was an American human-rated expendable rocket used by NASA's Apollo and Skylab programs from 1967 until 1973. A multistage liquid-fueled launch vehicle, NASA launched 13 Saturn Vs from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida with no loss of crew or payload...
Apollo launch. Cavallaro painted nine works, all now in the possession of the National Air and Space MuseumNational Air and Space MuseumThe National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution holds the largest collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft in the world. It was established in 1976. Located in Washington, D.C., United States, it is a center for research into the history and science of aviation and...
, 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.
- Ignition Sequence (1968), painting, oil and acrylic on canvas; current owner: National Air and Space MuseumNational Air and Space MuseumThe National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution holds the largest collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft in the world. It was established in 1976. Located in Washington, D.C., United States, it is a center for research into the history and science of aviation and...
(A19750915000) - Power To Go, painting, mixed media on canvas; current owner: National Air and Space MuseumNational Air and Space MuseumThe National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution holds the largest collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft in the world. It was established in 1976. Located in Washington, D.C., United States, it is a center for research into the history and science of aviation and...
(A19760292000) - After Image, acrylic on canvas; current owner: National Air and Space MuseumNational Air and Space MuseumThe National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution holds the largest collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft in the world. It was established in 1976. Located in Washington, D.C., United States, it is a center for research into the history and science of aviation and...
(A19781061000) - Untitled I (1967-68), painting, mixed media on canvas; current owner: National Air and Space MuseumNational Air and Space MuseumThe National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution holds the largest collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft in the world. It was established in 1976. Located in Washington, D.C., United States, it is a center for research into the history and science of aviation and...
(A19810581000) - Untitled II (1967-68), painting, mixed media on canvas; current owner: National Air and Space MuseumNational Air and Space MuseumThe National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution holds the largest collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft in the world. It was established in 1976. Located in Washington, D.C., United States, it is a center for research into the history and science of aviation and...
(A19810582000) - Untitled III (1967-68), painting, mixed media on canvas; current owner: National Air and Space MuseumNational Air and Space MuseumThe National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution holds the largest collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft in the world. It was established in 1976. Located in Washington, D.C., United States, it is a center for research into the history and science of aviation and...
(A19810583000) - Untitled IV (1967-68), painting, mixed media on canvas; current owner: National Air and Space MuseumNational Air and Space MuseumThe National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution holds the largest collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft in the world. It was established in 1976. Located in Washington, D.C., United States, it is a center for research into the history and science of aviation and...
(A19810584000) - Untitled V (1967-68), painting, mixed media on canvas; current owner: National Air and Space MuseumNational Air and Space MuseumThe National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution holds the largest collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft in the world. It was established in 1976. Located in Washington, D.C., United States, it is a center for research into the history and science of aviation and...
(A19810585000) - Untitled VI, painting, mixed media on canvas; current owner: National Air and Space MuseumNational Air and Space MuseumThe National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution holds the largest collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft in the world. It was established in 1976. Located in Washington, D.C., United States, it is a center for research into the history and science of aviation and...
(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 — ZodiacZodiacIn astronomy, the zodiac is a circle of twelve 30° divisions of celestial longitude which are centred upon the ecliptic: the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year...
. 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 reliefReliefRelief is a sculptural technique. The term relief is from the Latin verb levo, to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is thus to give the impression that the sculpted material has been raised above the background plane...
: hydrostone with epoxy paint (8 inches x 4 feet x 9 inches). The sculpture cost $15,000. Final approval was given on Sept. 30, 1971. (location unknown, but thought to be a high school in QueensQueensQueens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
) - 1975 — Aluminum Sheets Painted With Enamel, Untitled PS 142, Amelia Castro School, Manhattan.
- 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
Bygone Installations
- 1960 — Commissioned art for The GauchoGauchoGaucho is a term commonly used to describe residents of the South American pampas, chacos, or Patagonian grasslands, found principally in parts of Argentina, Uruguay, Southern Chile, and Southern Brazil...
Room (aka El Gaucho Restaurant), The Summit Hotel (51st & LexingtonLexington Avenue (Manhattan)Lexington Avenue, often colloquially abbreviated by New Yorkers as "Lex," is an avenue on the East Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City that carries southbound one-way traffic from East 131st Street to Gramercy Park at East 21st Street...
)
- Designed by Morris LapidusMorris LapidusMorris Lapidus was the architect of Neo-baroque Miami Modern hotels that has since come to define the 1950s resort-hotel style synonymous with Miami and Miami Beach....
, Loews CorporationLoews CorporationLoews Corporation is a holding company run by the Tisch Family whose subsidiaries are engaged in the following lines of business:*property and casualty insurance...
built and opened the hotel in 1961. Lapidus gave the Gaucho room an ArgentineArgentinaArgentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
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, FloridaBal Harbour, FloridaBal Harbour is a village in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 3,305 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Bal Harbour is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of...
(now the Sheraton Bal Harbour). Loews remodeled it in 2002, renaming it "Metropolitan." Loews sold it to Hilton Hotels CorporationHilton Hotels CorporationHilton Worldwide is a global hospitality company. It is owned by the Blackstone Group, a private equity firm. As of July 2011 Hilton brands encompass 3,750 hotels with over 600,000 rooms in 84 countries...
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 lithographsLithographyLithography is a method for printing using a stone or a metal plate with a completely smooth surface...
for the Hilton Hotel, New York.
- 1966 — 30 lithographs
Selected Shows
- 1941 — Merit Award (Group B), United States Department of the TreasuryUnited States Department of the TreasuryThe Department of the Treasury is an executive department and the treasury of the United States federal government. It was established by an Act of Congress in 1789 to manage government revenue...
Defense Poster Competition, MoMAMuseum of Modern ArtThe Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world... - 1950 — Solo Exposition, Schwarts Gallery, ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
- 1957 — Solo Exposition, Highgate Gallery, Montclair, New JerseyMontclair, New Jersey-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 38,977 people, 15,020 households, and 9,687 families residing in the township. The population density was 6,183.6 people per square mile . There were 15,531 housing units at an average density of 2,464.0 per square mile...
- 1958 — Group Exposition, Henri Gallery, Alexandria, VirginiaAlexandria, VirginiaAlexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...
- 1959 — Semi-Solo Exposition, The Architectural League of New York
- 1959 — Semi-Solo Exposition, Highgate Gallery, New York
- 1960 — Participant, Salon International, Monte CarloMonte CarloMonte Carlo is an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco....
- 1960 — Group Exposition, Galerie Norval, New York
- 1960 — Group Exposition, Carnegie HallCarnegie HallCarnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
, New York - 1960 — Semi-Solo Exposition, Highgate Gallery, 827 Third Avenue, New York (Oct thru Nov 8)
- 1961 — Semi-Solo Exposition, Fairleigh Dickinson UniversityFairleigh Dickinson UniversityFairleigh Dickinson University is a private university founded as a junior college in 1942. It now has several campuses located in New Jersey, Canada, and the United Kingdom.-Description:...
, NJ - 1962 — Group Exposition, The Marble Arch Gallery, Miami, FloridaMiami, FloridaMiami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
- 1962 — Semi-Solo Exposition, International Graphics, J.L. Hudson Gallery, Detroit, MichiganDetroit, MichiganDetroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
- 1963 — Semi-Solo Exposition, Fairleigh Dickinson UniversityFairleigh Dickinson UniversityFairleigh Dickinson University is a private university founded as a junior college in 1942. It now has several campuses located in New Jersey, Canada, and the United Kingdom.-Description:...
, NJ - 1965 — Group Exposition, Museum of Fine Arts, Eilat, IsraelIsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
- 1965 — Film Featuring Aluminum works by Cavallaro, produced by AlcoaAlcoaAlcoa Inc. is the world's third largest producer of aluminum, behind Rio Tinto Alcan and Rusal. From its operational headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Alcoa conducts operations in 31 countries...
- 1965 — Semi-Solo Exposition: Aluminum in Art, AlcoaAlcoaAlcoa Inc. is the world's third largest producer of aluminum, behind Rio Tinto Alcan and Rusal. From its operational headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Alcoa conducts operations in 31 countries...
, Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States... - 1966 — Group Exposition, Finch CollegeFinch CollegeFinch College was a baccalaureate women's college located in Manhattan, New York City, New York. It began as a finishing school for wealthy young women and later evolved into a liberal arts college...
Museum of Art, 62 East 78th Street, New York - 1966 — Group Exposition, Allentown Art Museum, PAAllentown, PennsylvaniaAllentown is a city located in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is Pennsylvania's third most populous city, after Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and the 215th largest city in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 118,032 and is currently...
- 1966 — Semi-Solo Exposition, International Art, Hilton, New York
- 1967 — Group Exposition, Weintraub Gallery, 1193, Lexington Avenue, New York
- 1968 — Commission, NASA Art Program, Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
- 1968 — Commission, National Gallery of ArtNational Gallery of ArtThe National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden is a national art museum, located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, in Washington, DC...
in partnership with the NASA Art Program, Washington, D.C. - 1969 — Solo Exposition, Galleria Toninelli, MilanMilanMilan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
- 1969 — Semi-Solo Exposition, Catherine Viviano Gallery, (October 7 to Nov. 1), New York
- 1980 — Semi-Solo Exposition, Nardin Galleries, 25 E 73rd St., New York (May 27 - June 29)
- 1980 — Semi-Solo Exposition, Apokalypsis, Nardin Galleries, 25 E 73rd St., New York (Oct 29 - Jan 4)
Publications
- 1979 — Cover: The Trojan Horse, The New York Quarterly (NYQRNew York QuarterlyThe New York Quarterly is a popular contemporary American poetry magazine. Established by William M. Packard in 1969, Rolling Stone Magazine has called the NYQ "the most important poetry magazine in America."- History :...
), Issue 24. - 1985 — After Image, (1978) (name not credited in publication), Chapter 7 of NASANASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
research publication: Mary M. Connors, PhD, et al., Living Aloft, NASA.
Family History
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 AcademyBrera Academy
The Academy of Fine Arts of Brera, also known as Brera Academy is a public academic institution located in Milan, Italy. It was founded in 1776 by HIM Maria Theresa of Austria.- Overview :...
in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
. Under the Italian spelling of his first name, "Vincenzo," he enlisted as a private in the U.S. Army Warrant Officers Program
Warrant Officer (United States)
In the United States military, the rank of warrant officer is rated as an officer above the senior-most enlisted ranks, as well as officer cadets and candidates, but below the officer grade of O-1...
on April 15, 1942, at Fort Jay
Fort Jay
Fort Jay is a harbor fortification and the name of the former Army post located on Governors Island in New York Harbor. Fort Jay is the oldest defensive structure on the island, built to defend Upper New York Bay, but has served other purposes...
, Governors Island
Governors Island
Governors Island is a island in Upper New York Bay, approximately one-half mile from the southern tip of Manhattan Island and separated from Brooklyn by Buttermilk Channel. It is legally part of the borough of Manhattan in New York City...
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.