Carlo Pittore (May 14, 1943 – July 17, 2005) born Charles J. Stanley was an American painter, educator, art activist, and publisher, whose primary study, teaching and body of work was

figurative art Figurative art, sometimes written as figurativism, describes artwork (particularly paintings and sculptures) that is clearly derived from real object sources and so is, by definition, representational. The term is often in contrast to abstract a ...

and

portrait painting Portrait painting is a Hierarchy of genres, genre in painting, where the intent is to represent a specific human subject. The term 'portrait painting' can also describe the actual painted portrait. Portraitists may create their work by commissio ...

. He was a pioneer in the

Mail Art Mail art, also known as postal art and correspondence art, is an artistic movement centered on sending small-scale works through the mail, postal service. It developed out of what eventually became Ray Johnson's New York Correspondence School and ...

movement, and is noted for opening the first independent art gallery in the

East Village, Manhattan The East Village is a neighborhood on the East Side (Manhattan), East Side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, New York. It is roughly defined as the area east of the Bowery and Third Avenue, between 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street on the ...

. In 1987, Pittore founded "The Academy of Carlo Pittore" in

Bowdoinham, Maine Bowdoinham is a town in Sagadahoc County, Maine, United States. Bowdoinham was included in the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine metropolitan New England city and town area. The population was 3,047 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Portland– ...

. He died of cancer in 2005.

Early life

Pittore (née Charles Stanley) was born to Stanford and Estelle Stanley in Queens, New York. He grew up on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

, in

Port Washington, New York Port Washington is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) on the Cow Neck Peninsula in the North Hempstead, New York, Town of North Hempstead, in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on the North Shore (Long Island), No ...

with his sister Marion and brother Elliott.

Early education

Pittore graduated from Port Washington High School (1961), where he was active in the political and debating scenes. He then went on to graduate from the

School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts The School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University (Museum School, SMFA at Tufts, or SMFA; formerly the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston) is a dedicated art school within Tufts University, a private research university in Massac ...

(1966), and post graduate from the Brooklyn Museum Art School (1978). Pittore changed his name in the 1970s while studying abroad in Rome, Italy. The children nicknamed him "Carlo Pittore", (”Charles the Painter"). From there he went on to study at the

Chelsea College of Arts Chelsea College of Arts is a Colleges of the University of the Arts London, constituent college of the University of the Arts London, a public art and design university in London, England. It offers further education, further and higher educ ...

in London. In 1978, Pittore received the

Max Beckmann Max Carl Friedrich Beckmann (February 12, 1884 – December 27, 1950) was a German painter, drawing, draftsman, printmaker, sculpture, sculptor, and writer. Although he is classified as an Expressionist artist, he rejected both the term and the m ...

Scholarship in Advanced Painting. It allowed him to begin studying with American feminist painter

Joan Semmel Joan Semmel (born October 19, 1932) is an American feminist painter and professor emeritus in painting. She is best known for her large-scale naturalistic nude self portraits as seen from her perspective looking down. Education and political in ...

at the Brooklyn Museum Art School. He also studied with visual portrait artist

Alice Neel Alice Neel (January 28, 1900 – October 13, 1984) was an American visual artist. Recognized for her paintings of friends, family, lovers, poets, artists, and strangers, Neel is considered one of the greatest American portraitists of the 20th ...

. After which, he taught art at the New York Cultural Foundation.

Career

In the 1970s, Pittore and his close friend

Bern Porter Bernard Harden Porter (February 14, 1911, Porter Settlement in Houlton, Aroostook County, Maine – June 7, 2004, in Belfast, Maine) was an American artist, writer, publisher, performer, and physicist. He was a representative of the avant-garde a ...

published mail art under the stamp series “Post Me”, which he published through "Pittore Euforico, New York". Pittore also published such works as "Maine Moments in New York" (1979), "Colleagues" (1979), The Adventures of Carlo Pittore" (1979) and "Salva la Campagna Romana" (1982). Pittore illustrated the book ‘’Bern! Porter! Interview!’’ with original rubber and mail stamps. Pittore opened “The Galleria dell ' Occhio” in 1980. It was the first independent art gallery in the East Village, New York City. Well known as a street level window art space open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, it was during this time that Pittore met and became acquainted with artists such as Chuck Welch (a.k.a. the Cracker Jack Kid),

Ray Johnson Raymond Edward "Ray" Johnson (October 16, 1927 – January 13, 1995) was an American artist. Known primarily as a collagist and correspondence artist, he was a seminal figure in the history of Neo-Dada and early Pop art and was described as < ...

, and

Keith Haring Keith Allen Haring (May 4, 1958 – February 16, 1990) was an American artist whose pop art emerged from the Graffiti in New York City, New York City graffiti subculture of the 1980s. His animated imagery has "become a widely recognized visual l ...

. Pittore painted Haring from life, a fact which Haring, a student at the

School of Visual Arts The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by Silas ...

at the time, mentions in hi
journals
Pittore's works have been shown in such places as Italy, Belgium, Tokyo, Chicago, New York (Museum Modern Art, Getty Institute for Art History & The Humanities, New York City Public Library), Los Angeles, Spain, Norway; and now hang in private collections throughout the world. Due to the devastation caused by the outbreak of

HIV/AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

in the 1980s, Pittore left the lower East Side of Manhattan and moved to Maine permanently. In 1987 he founded "The Academy of Carlo Pittore" in Bowdoinham, Maine. Here he invited artists from all over to come and share their knowledge and talents in an academic forum; whilst he himself hosted drawing classes, painted and drew the artists (and models) and also cooked for them. Pittore founded the “Union of Maine Visual Artists” in 1975. The UMVA passed into state law the “Maine Percent for Art Program” and the “Artist’s Estate Tax Law”. From 1978 to 1980, he was a council member for the "Comprehensive Employment Training Act Artists Project" in New York City. Just before his death in 2005, the Maine College of Art awarded Pittore an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts. The "Carlo Pittore Foundation for the Figurative Arts" was founded in 2006.

Style

Pittore painted in the figurative and portraiture style; focusing mainly on the nude form of study. On account of this, critics and objectors occasionally viewed his work as "erotic" rather than objective art. Throughout his life, Pittore was extremely vocal toward such critics and what he perceived to be "ignorance" toward his art or art in general. He did not shy away from either voicing his opinion in letters to the editor or removing his exhibits from art galleries or public showings. The colors red and green (symbols of the Italian flag) were two essential components in Pittore's work that defined his belief and understanding of complementary palette application. The contrast of these two color schemes arise time and again throughout his works; as can be seen in "Portrait of Blair Tily" (1987), "Opera - Self Portrait" (1981), "La Buffonera" (1983), and "Portrait of a Skeptic" (1996). Pittore's "Lincoln Portrait Series" was the only oil-on-canvas medium in which he worked without color. For this, he painted entirely in black and white due to the fact that the portraits were modeled after 19th-century photographs of

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

References

External links

International Artists ManifestNew England TodayNew England FilmCarlo Pittore at the New York Book Fair
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pittore, Carlo 1943 births 2005 deaths Carlo Pittore Carlo Pittore Carlo Pittore American male artists People from Port Washington, New York School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts alumni 20th-century American male artists