Alcamo Alcamo (; scn, Àrcamu, italic=no) is the fourth-largest town and communes of Italy, commune of the Province of Trapani, Sicily, with a population of 44.925 inhabitants. It is on the borderline with the Metropolitan City of Palermo at a distan ...

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

Suffern, New York Suffern is a village that was incorporated in 1796 in the town of Ramapo in Rockland County, New York. Suffern is located 31 miles northwest of Manhattan. As of the 2010 census, Suffern's population was 10,723. and elsewhere. That same year he unveiled a traditional Beaux Arts sculpture for Brooklyn's Freedom Square Park – ''Victory with Peace'' – a classical

nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...

(winged goddess), but one who holds aloft an olive branch, instead of a sword. His next commission, ''The Dawn of Glory'', probably is his most famous work. It depicts the soul of a dead soldier wrapped in an

American Flag The national flag of the United States of America, often referred to as the ''American flag'' or the ''U.S. flag'', consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the ca ...

ascending to heaven. The sculpture is a one-and-one-half-lifesize nude, and the bodybuilder Charles Atlas (born Angelo Siciliano) posed for it. It was unveiled in Brooklyn's Highland Park on July 13, 1924. His ''Minute Man'' sculpture for the World War I memorial in East Providence, Rhode Island, is even more intimidating than ''Fighting Doughboy''. The physicality of the soldier is striking – the model may have been Charles Atlas, again – and the knife he clutches (now broken) along with his slashed trousers and wounded thigh suggest that he has just emerged as victor from bloody hand-to-hand combat. The monument was dedicated on July 30, 1927. His last large-scale war memorial was for the town of

Mirabella Imbaccari Mirabella Imbaccari ( scn, Màcara, Latin: ''Imachara'' and ''Imacara'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania in the Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo and about southwest of Catania. Mirab ...

, Sicily, and was commissioned by Sicilian-Americans living in New York City. It features a bronze, one-and-one-half-lifesize centurion – nude, but for belt, helmet and cape – who protects and comforts a clothed woman collapsed at his feet. ''Monumento ai Caduti'' (''Monument to the Fallen'') was unveiled in 1938, almost twenty years after the end of World War I. He modeled a bust of Italian engineer Guglielmo Marconi for the 1939 New York World's Fair, and later donated it to the Engineers' Hall of Fame. Montana co-founded the Leonardo da Vinci School of Art in the late-1920s, where he taught for several years. In the 1930s, he taught at the Roerich Academy of Arts. As artist-in-residence at Fordham University from 1947 to 1952, he taught painting and sculpture, and executed a number of school commissions. Most notable among these are the fourteen Stations of the Cross bas-relief panels in the University Chapel, which feature half-lifesize figures carved out of white oak. He created commemorative medallions, including two sets of religious medallions for the

Franklin Mint The Franklin Mint is a private mint founded by Joseph Segel in 1964 in Wawa, Pennsylvania. The building is in Middletown Township. The brand name was previously owned by Sequential Brands Group headquartered in New York City, New York. It is ...

. Copies of his 1957 St. Francis of Assisi medallion for the Society of Medalists are in the collections of the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and other museums.

Honors

He exhibited at the

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is a museum and private art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

— 1919, 1920, 1924, 1930–1936, 1943–1948; the

National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, and others "to promote the f ...

— 1918, 1919, 1921, 1931 (Gold Medal for ''Orphans''); the Allied Artists of America — 1932–1949 (Gold Medals 1942 & 1949); and elsewhere. He was elected an associate of the

National Academy A national academy is an organizational body, usually operating with State (polity), state financial support and approval, that co-ordinates scholarly research activities and standards for academic disciplines, most frequently in the sciences but ...

of Design in 1968, and an academician in 1970. He was also a member of the

National Sculpture Society Founded in 1893, the National Sculpture Society (NSS) was the first organization of professional sculptors formed in the United States. The purpose of the organization was to promote the welfare of American sculptors, although its founding members ...

and the Allied Artists of America. He received the Daniel Chester French Medal for Religious Sculpture, the Allied Artists of America Award, the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valo ...

of the Catholic Fine Arts Society and the award of the

National Academy A national academy is an organizational body, usually operating with State (polity), state financial support and approval, that co-ordinates scholarly research activities and standards for academic disciplines, most frequently in the sciences but ...

of Design.

Personal

He became a naturalized American citizen in 1921. He married Alfrieda Kramer on April 3, 1930, and they lived in Brooklyn, and later Manhattan. The couple moved to Rome, Italy in 1962, where they resided until Alfrieda's death in 1975. Montana returned to the United States and lived with a niece in Bayville, New York. Late in life, he donated many of his smaller works to Fordham University and to Capital University, in Columbus, Ohio. He donated his papers to the

Archives of American Art The Archives of American Art is the largest collection of primary resources documenting the history of the visual arts in the United States. More than 20 million items of original material are housed in the Archives' research centers in Washingt ...

at the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

. A year before his death, he completed an autobiography. The Pietro and Alfrieda Montana Memorial Prize is awarded annually by the

National Sculpture Society Founded in 1893, the National Sculpture Society (NSS) was the first organization of professional sculptors formed in the United States. The purpose of the organization was to promote the welfare of American sculptors, although its founding members ...

.

Selected works

War memorials

* ''Fighting Doughboy'' (bronze, 1919–21), Bushwick-Ridgewood World War Memorial, Heisser Park, Myrtle & Knickerbocker Avenues, Brooklyn, New York, Giles Pollard Greene (1888–1941), architect. ** ''Fighting Doughboy'' (zinc, 1921), Soldiers Monument, Washington & Lafayette Avenues,

Suffern, New York Suffern is a village that was incorporated in 1796 in the town of Ramapo in Rockland County, New York. Suffern is located 31 miles northwest of Manhattan. As of the 2010 census, Suffern's population was 10,723.World War I Memorial, Taunton Avenue & Wheldon Street, East Providence, Rhode Island. * ''Monumento ai Caduti'' (''Monument to the Fallen'') (1938), Palazzo Biscari,

Mirabella Imbaccari Mirabella Imbaccari ( scn, Màcara, Latin: ''Imachara'' and ''Imacara'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania in the Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo and about southwest of Catania. Mirab ...

, Sicily, Italy.

Religious works

* ''Head of Christ'', Civic Library S.Bagolino,

Alcamo Alcamo (; scn, Àrcamu, italic=no) is the fourth-largest town and communes of Italy, commune of the Province of Trapani, Sicily, with a population of 44.925 inhabitants. It is on the borderline with the Metropolitan City of Palermo at a distan ...

,

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

* ''Statuette of St. Francis of Assisi and Three of His Brethren'' (1940). * ''Bas-relief bust of Pope Pius XII'' (bronze, 1945), Fordham University, New York City. * Fourteen Stations of the Cross (bas-relief, white oak, 1947–52), War Memorial Chapel, Fordham University, New York City. * ''Statue of Blessed Mother Therese Couderc'' (1953), Convent of Our Lady of the Cenacle, Lake Ronkonkoma, New York. Therese Couderc (1805–1885) was canonized as a saint on September 26, 1970. * Architectural sculpture on exterior of northwest apse (1959),

Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception is a large minor Catholic basilica and national shrine in the United States in Washington, D.C., located at 400 Michigan Avenue Northeast, adjacent to Catholic University. ...

, Washington, D.C. ** ''Statuette of St. Patrick'' ** ''Statuette of St. Boniface'' ** ''Statuette of St. Cyril'' ** ''Statuette of St. Methodius'' * ''Statue of St. John the Baptist'' (marble, year?), Church of St. Jean Baptiste, 184 East 76th Street, New York City. * ''Statue of St. Expeditus the Martyr'' (year?), St. Patrick Cathedral, Fort Worth, Texas * ''Statue of St. Michael'' (year?), Eymard Preparatory Seminary,

Hyde Park, New York Hyde Park is a town in Dutchess County, New York, United States, bordering the Hudson River north of Poughkeepsie. Within the town are the hamlets of Hyde Park, East Park, Staatsburg, and Haviland. Hyde Park is known as the hometown of Fran ...

. * Memorial (year?), Church of St. Philip Neri, Grand Concourse, Bronx, New York City.

Other works

* Mark Twain– Washington Irving Memorial Tablet (bas-relief busts, bronze, 1925), Brevoort Hotel, SW corner of Fifth Avenue & 9th Street, New York City. Twain and Irving, at different times, occupied a house at 21 Fifth Avenue. * ''Bust of "Mother" Davison'' (bronze, 1925),

Fort Jay Fort Jay is a coastal bastion fort and the name of a former United States Army post on Governors Island in New York Harbor, within New York City. Fort Jay is the oldest existing defensive structure on the island, and was named for John Jay, a memb ...

,

Governors Island Governors Island is a island in New York Harbor, within the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is located approximately south of Manhattan Island, and is separated from Brooklyn to the east by the Buttermilk Channel. The National Park ...

, New York City. * Catherine I. Carroll Memorial Tablet (bas-relief, bronze, 1927), Metropolitan Recreation Center,

Williamsburg, Brooklyn Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordered by Greenpoint to the north; Bedford–Stuyvesant to the south; Bushwick and East Williamsburg to the east; and the East River to the west. As of the 2020 United ...

, New York. * ''Bust of José Di Diego'' (bronze, 1934–35), Plaza de Diego,

Mayagüez, Puerto Rico Mayagüez (, ) is a city and the eighth-largest municipality in Puerto Rico. It was founded as Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria de Mayagüez, and is also known as ''La Sultana del Oeste'' (The Sultaness of the West), ''Ciudad de las Aguas Pura ...

. Gift of Oscar Bravo. A heroic-sized bust set on a high

plinth A pedestal (from French ''piédestal'', Italian ''piedistallo'' 'foot of a stall') or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In ...

. * ''Bust of Guglielmo Marconi'' (bronze, 1939), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Hall of Fame, New York City. Exhibited at the 1939 New York World's Fair. * ''Bas-relief bust of Guglielmo Marconi'' (bronze, year?), Freeman Hall, Fordham University. * ''Bust of Ignazio Calandrino'', a poet from Alcamo; Civic Library

Sebastiano Bagolino Sebastiano Bagolino was a Latin poet and scholar. Biography He was born in Alcamo, in the province of Trapani, from Giovan Leonardo, a painter, and Caterina Tabone.F. M. Mirabella, Cenni degli alcamesi rinomati in scienze, lettere, arti, armi e ...

of

Alcamo Alcamo (; scn, Àrcamu, italic=no) is the fourth-largest town and communes of Italy, commune of the Province of Trapani, Sicily, with a population of 44.925 inhabitants. It is on the borderline with the Metropolitan City of Palermo at a distan ...

* Garden sculpture (1954), Norrviken Gardens, Båstad, Sweden. * ''Mutual Trust'' (marble, year?), Old Courthouse,

Klippan, Scania Klippan (literally ''the Cliff'', old da, Klippen) is a locality and the seat of Klippan Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that t ...

, Sweden. A toddler asleep against fawn. * ''Bust of Pontiac 1720–1769'' (bronze, 1961), National Hall of Fame for Famous American Indians,

Anadarko, Oklahoma Anadarko is a city in Caddo County, Oklahoma, United States. The city is fifty miles southwest of Oklahoma City. The population was 5,745 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Caddo County. History Anadarko got its name when its post of ...

. * Monument to Pedro Perea (year?),

Mayagüez, Puerto Rico Mayagüez (, ) is a city and the eighth-largest municipality in Puerto Rico. It was founded as Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria de Mayagüez, and is also known as ''La Sultana del Oeste'' (The Sultaness of the West), ''Ciudad de las Aguas Pura ...

. * unidentified work (year?), Starr Commonwealth Museum, 26 Mile Road,

Albion, Michigan Albion is a city in Calhoun County in the south central region of the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 8,616 at the 2010 census and is part of the Battle Creek Metropolitan Statistical Area. The earliest English ...

.

Medallions and miniatures

* ''Orphans'' (miniature, bronze, 1931),

National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, and others "to promote the f ...

, New York City. Won a Gold Medal at the 1931 National Academy of Design Annual Exhibition. ** ''Orphans'' (miniature, black marble),

Brookgreen Gardens Brookgreen Gardens is a sculpture garden and wildlife preserve, located just south of Murrells Inlet, in South Carolina. The property includes several themed gardens featuring American figurative sculptures, the Lowcountry Zoo, and trails throu ...

, Murrell's Inlet, South Carolina. * Adolph Zukor Silver Jubilee Medallion (1937), Paramount Pictures. Montana also modeled a portrait plaque of Zukor. * Gold Medal of Honor (1952), Hudson Valley Art Association. * St. Francis of Assisi Medallion (bronze, 1957), Society of Medalists - 55th issue. * ''Vita Christi'' – 12-medallion set (bronze, 1972),

Franklin Mint The Franklin Mint is a private mint founded by Joseph Segel in 1964 in Wawa, Pennsylvania. The building is in Middletown Township. The brand name was previously owned by Sequential Brands Group headquartered in New York City, New York. It is ...

. * ''The Parables of Jesus'' – 20-medallion set (bronze, 1974),

Franklin Mint The Franklin Mint is a private mint founded by Joseph Segel in 1964 in Wawa, Pennsylvania. The building is in Middletown Township. The brand name was previously owned by Sequential Brands Group headquartered in New York City, New York. It is ...

.

Paintings

* ''Training Horses'' (1944). * ''Portrait of Major General Nathaniel A. Burnell II'' (1957), U.S. Department of Defense.Portrait of General Burnell
from the National Archives. * ''Self-portrait'' (1968), National Academy of Design, New York City.

References

Sources

* "The Work of Pietro Montana," ''National Sculpture Review'' (Summer, 1970). * Pietro Montana, ''Memories: An Autobiography'' (Exposition Press, 1977)

Pietro Montana obituary
''The New York Times'', July 21, 1978.
Pietro Montana, 1890 – 1978

National Academy Museum and School The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, and others "to promote the fi ...

, New York City. * Cal Snyder, ''Out of Fire and Valor: The War Memorials of New York City'', (Bunker Hill Publishing, 2005). * Jennifer Wingate, ''Sculpting Doughboys: Memory, Gender and Taste in America's World War I Memorials'', (Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2013).

Other projects

{{DEFAULTSORT:Montana, Pietro People from Alcamo Artists from Brooklyn American architectural sculptors American male sculptors 1890 births 1978 deaths Italian emigrants to the United States National Academy of Design members Fordham University faculty 20th-century American sculptors 20th-century American male artists National Sculpture Society members Sculptors from New York (state)