Collection Information
Size: 2.7 Linear feet
Summary: The papers of Luigi Lucioni measure 2.7 linear feet and date from 1905-2008. The papers document Lucioni's life and career as a commercially successful realist painter who was best known for his landscapes of Vermont and portraits of opera singers. Included are biographical material, correspondence, writings, photographs, printed material including objects relating to Lucioni, and artwork. Correspondence is with friends, family, admirers, museums, and associates; Writings and notes are by Lucioni and also includes a signed guest book; Photographs are of Lucioni, his family, his artwork and events. Printed material includes publicity materials concerning Lucioni's solo exhibitions, opera playbills, newspaper and magazine clippings, holiday card designs and auction and exhibition catalogs. Objects include four decks of playing cards and a puzzle all featuring Lucioni's artwork, and artwork consists of sketches of a dog, likely one of Lucioni's pets.
Biographical/Historical Note
Luigi Lucioni (1900-1988) was an Italian American painter in Vermont and New York best known for his landscapes of Vermont and portraits of opera singers. Born in Malnate, Italy, Lucioni's family immigrated to New York in 1911 and eventual settled in Union City, NJ. Though he never finished primary school, Lucioni was admitted to Cooper Union where he studied painting while also working for a Brooklyn engraving company. After his time at Cooper Union, he continued his studies at the National Academy of Design, and then the Tiffany Foundation in Oyster Bay, Long Island. In 1929, he began spending part of each year in Stowe, Vermont painting still lifes and landscapes of the hills and barns. In 1939 he purchased a farmhouse and barn near Manchester, Vermont, converting the barn into a studio. He continued to paint and make etchings of the surrounding countryside for the next fifty years.
Provenance
A majority of the collection donated in 2008 and 2011 by Sharron Kropa, a friend of Lucioni. Also 17 items donated in 1972 by Lucioni. Biographical material and some correspondence compiled by Ida Galvanoi, a family friend.
Related Materials
Luigi Lucioni papers also at Syracuse University and the Aldrich Public Library in Barre, Vt.
Language Note
English .
Funding Note
The processing of this collection received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund, administered by the National Collections Program and the Smithsonian Collections Advisory Committee.
Image assets for this folder have not been fully processed.
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