Furio Piccirilli
Encyclopedia
Furio Piccirilli American sculptor and one of the Piccirilli Brothers
.
Piccirilli was born in Massa, Italy into a family with a long tradition of carving and sculpting. Like his older brother Attilio
he was educated at the Accademia di San Luca
of Rome
. With his brother Attilio he immigrated to England in the mid 1880s and then moved to the United States in 1888. With their father and brothers he helped establish the Piccirilli Brothers carving business.
He was a well known and respected sculptor aside from being known in connection with his family firm. He was "considered the most creative and the best modeler" of all the brothers.
Piccirilli returned to Italy to get married in 1921, and then moved there permanently in 1926. He died in Rome in 1949.
Piccirilli Brothers
The Piccirilli Brothers were a family of renowned marble carvers who carved a large number of the most significant marble sculptures in the United States, including Daniel Chester French’s colossal Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C.-History:In 1888, Giuseppe Piccirilli , a...
.
Piccirilli was born in Massa, Italy into a family with a long tradition of carving and sculpting. Like his older brother Attilio
Attilio Piccirilli
Attilio Piccirilli was an American sculptor.Born in the province of Massa-Carrara, Italy, he was educated at the Accademia di San Luca of Rome.-Life and career:...
he was educated at the Accademia di San Luca
Accademia di San Luca
The Accademia di San Luca, was founded in 1577 as an association of artists in Rome, under the directorship of Federico Zuccari, with the purpose of elevating the work of "artists", which included painters, sculptors and architects, above that of mere craftsmen. Other founders included Girolamo...
of 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...
. With his brother Attilio he immigrated to England in the mid 1880s and then moved to the United States in 1888. With their father and brothers he helped establish the Piccirilli Brothers carving business.
He was a well known and respected sculptor aside from being known in connection with his family firm. He was "considered the most creative and the best modeler" of all the brothers.
Piccirilli returned to Italy to get married in 1921, and then moved there permanently in 1926. He died in Rome in 1949.
Selected work
- California State Building arch, Balboa ParkBalboa ParkBalboa Park is the name of several municipal parks or neighborhoods, including the following:* Balboa Park, San Diego, California, United States* Balboa Park, San Francisco, California, United States...
, San Diego, CaliforniaSan Diego, CaliforniaSan Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
1915
- figure of PortiaPortia (Merchant of Venice)Portia is the heroine of William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. A rich, beautiful, and intelligent heiress, she is bound by the lottery set forth in her father's will, which gives potential suitors the chance to choose between three caskets composed of gold, silver and lead...
for the Martha Cook building at the University of MichiganUniversity of MichiganThe University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
, 1915
- Four figures for the Manitoba Legislative Building, Lord SelkirkThomas Douglas, 5th Earl of SelkirkThomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk was a Scottish peer. He was born at Saint Mary's Isle, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland. He was noteworthy as a Scottish philanthropist who sponsored immigrant settlements in Canada at the Red River Colony.- Early background :Douglas was the seventh son of Dunbar...
, Marquis of Dufferin, General WolfeJames WolfeMajor General James P. Wolfe was a British Army officer, known for his training reforms but remembered chiefly for his victory over the French in Canada...
and Sieur de La VérendryePierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La VérendryePierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye was a French Canadian military officer, fur trader and explorer. In the 1730s he and his four sons opened up the area west of Lake Superior and thus began the process that added Western Canada to the original New France in the Saint Lawrence basin...
, 1920
- Figures of Ethan AllenEthan AllenEthan Allen was a farmer, businessman, land speculator, philosopher, writer, and American Revolutionary War patriot, hero, and politician. He is best known as one of the founders of the U.S...
, Isaac ShelbyIsaac ShelbyIsaac Shelby was the first and fifth Governor of the U.S. state of Kentucky and served in the state legislatures of Virginia and North Carolina. He was also a soldier in Lord Dunmore's War, the Revolutionary War, and the War of 1812...
, John StarkJohn StarkJohn Stark was a New Hampshire native who served as a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. He became widely known as the "Hero of Bennington" for his exemplary service at the Battle of Bennington in 1777.-Early life:John Stark was born in Londonderry, New...
, John AdamsJohn AdamsJohn Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...
and John HancockJohn HancockJohn Hancock was a merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution. He served as president of the Second Continental Congress and was the first and third Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts...
at the Daughters of the American RevolutionDaughters of the American RevolutionThe Daughters of the American Revolution is a lineage-based membership organization for women who are descended from a person involved in United States' independence....
Museum in Washington D.C.
- Seal, Metropolitan Museum of ArtMetropolitan Museum of ArtThe Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
, New York, 1927. Another carving is located in Brookgreen GardensBrookgreen GardensBrookgreen Gardens is a sculpture garden and wildlife preserve, located just south of Murrells Inlet, in South Carolina. The property includes several themed gardens with American figurative sculptures placed in them, the Lowcountry Zoo, and trails through several ecosystems in nature reserves on...
, Murrells Inlet, South CarolinaSouth CarolinaSouth Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
.
- Penguin, National Academy of DesignNational Academy of DesignThe National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts, founded in New York City as the National Academy of Design – known simply as the "National Academy" – is an honorary association of American artists founded in 1825 by Samuel F. B. Morse, Asher B. Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E...
, Washington D.C.