LOT DETAILS

Materials:

Marble

Measurements:

20.47 in. (52.00 cm.) (height)

Markings:

Signed along base: Attilio Piccirilli

Literature:

D.J. Hassler, J.M. Marter, and T. Tolles, American Sculpture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art: A catalogue of works, Vol. II, New York, 2001, p. 484. Attilio Piccirilli was born in Tuscany, Italy in 1866. He and his five brothers were trained as stone and marble carvers under the guidance of their father the carver Guiseppe Piccirilli. In 1888 the family immigrated to New York, where they would further their art. Later, Attilio and his brother Furio would move to a brownstone on 142nd Street in the Bronx and set up a studio next to their home that would eventually grow to occupy an entire city block. Over the years, Attilio and Furio would be involved with the creation of some of the most important monumental sculpture of the time including: The Four Continents by Daniel Chester French; twelve allegorical statues on the cornice of the U.S. Custom House at Bowling Green, New York; the N.Y. Stock Exchange Pediment by J.Q.A. Ward; the Senate Pediment of the U.S. Capital Building; tympana bas-reliefs at the Frick Mansion, both sculpted by Attilio; thirty large allegorical figures for the cornice of the Brooklyn Museum, the Indian Literature and Indian Law Giver by Attilio; the Civic Virtue Statue-Fountain by Frederick MacMonnies now at Queens Borough Hall; the Maine Monument, Central Park and Firemen's Monument, Riverside Park, both sculpted by Attilio, and The Joy of Life and Youth Leading Industry which was cast in Pyrex Glass, Palazzo d'Italia, both at Rockefeller Center, by Attilio; and the carving of the two pediments, six attic sculptures, and the Lions at The New York Public Library. Although best known for their work on the many monuments and carvings listed above, Attilio and his brothers were fine sculptors in their own right, and several of their sculptures are in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Provenance:

Christie's, New York, December 5, 1986, lot 287; Eugene Leone Collection (Mamma Leone Ristorante); Ira Spanierman Gallery, New York; Acquired by the present owner from the above, 1998.