Francesco Spicuzza Portrait Paintings
Italian, American, 1883-1962
Italian-born Francesco Spicuzza was primarily a Wisconsin painter who did portraits, still-lives and local landscapes. He spent the first part of his life in near-poverty to become a painter. An eternal optimist, in 1917, the artist reported: "I am happy and my only ambition now is to paint better and better until I shall have reached the measure of the best of which I am capable." (Spicuzza, 1917, p. 22). His predilection for beach scenes germinated early: reportedly, the five-year-old boy first drew the outlines of his father's fishing boat in the sand on the seashore near their home in Sicily. After setting himself up as a fruit peddler in Milwaukee, Spicuzza's father sent for his family when Francesco was eight years old.
In 1899 or 1900, Spicuzza began studying drawing and anatomy under Robert Schade (1861-1912), a painter of panoramas who had been trained in Munich under Carl Theodor von Piloty. Spicuzza was also taught by Alexander Mueller (1872-1935), a product of the Weimar and Munich academies.
The earliest influences in his work appear to be from Edward H. Potthast and Maurice Prendergast, though Spicuzza never mentioned either artist. Already in August 1910, Spicuzza was described in a newspaper as "one of the most talented of Milwaukee's rising workers." He undoubtedly received lasting inspiration from his one summer study period in 1911 with John F. Carlson at the Art Students League's Summer School in Woodstock, New York. Although he executed numerous still-lives and an occasional religious work, Spicuzza is best known for his Milwaukee beach scenes populated with frolicking bathers in multi-colored attire, not unlike the images of Potthast, who used a similar technique. These beach genre scenes reflect the attitude of American impressionists who depicted the more pleasant side of life.
Spicuzza manipulated a successful balance of rich pigment applied in varying degrees of impasto texture with subtle nuances of hue. Working all'aperto, he sought "the soft enticing shades of yellow, blue, green, pink and lavender . . . to get the effects of bright glistening summer air." (L.E.S., n.d.). As a painter whose color not only derived from direct observation but also from a personal theory of color symbolism, Spicuzza traded the linear approach of lithography for dynamic patches of brilliant color. Like Prendergast, he would often tilt the angle of the picture plane to bring the viewer's position above the scene.
Spicuzza spent a great deal of time painting en plein air and by 1925 he began summering at Big Cedar Lake, near West Bend, Wisconsin to gather his subject matter. During the difficult era of the Depression, patrons came to Spicuzza's aid and during the 40s, he taught housewives, businessmen and students at the Milwaukee Art Institute, the Milwaukee Art Center, and in his studio. In the following decade, although his kind of art was no longer popular in the "make-it-or-break-it" New York gallery world, Spicuzza enjoyed regular patronage and sales.
Bio by Richard H. Love and Michael Preston Worley, Ph.D.to
1
2
Overall Width
to
Overall Height
to
3
2
1
3
2
2
2
1
1
3
3
1
1
16
252
83
78
74
2
1
3
Artist: Francesco Spicuzza
20th century oil painting self portrait male subject glasses pipe signed
By Francesco Spicuzza
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Self Portrait" is an original oil painting on masonite board by Francesco Spicuzza. The artist signed the piece in the lower left. It depicts the artist holding a pipe in front of a...
Category
1940s Francesco Spicuzza Portrait Paintings
Materials
Masonite, Oil
20th century oil painting portrait realism female subject dark background signed
By Francesco Spicuzza
Located in Milwaukee, WI
Signed lower right by the artist.
Francesco J. Spicuzza, born in Sicily on July 23, 1883, came to America at the age of 8. He supported himself as a fruit peddler until a newspaperman gave him $4 a week to go to school...
Category
1910s Francesco Spicuzza Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
20th century oil painting portrait realism male subject dark background signed
By Francesco Spicuzza
Located in Milwaukee, WI
Signed lower right by the artist.
Francesco J. Spicuzza, born in Sicily on July 23, 1883, came to America at the age of 8. He supported himself as a fruit peddler until a newspaperman gave him $4 a week to go to school. He attended classes at the Milwaukee Art Students League, where he studied under Alexander Mueller. There he learned to paint in the then-fashionable "Munich School" technique, with detailed realism in heavy browns and grayed-out hues. Spicuzza completed eight grades in four years, and then in 1911, three businessmen advanced him enough money to allow him to study in New York under artist and teacher John Carlson.
It was during this time that Spicuzza changed his style of painting, developing an impressionistic use of color, form and atmospheric renditions. After a period of grinding poverty, one of Spicuzza's pictures won a major New York competition. It was the first of 60 wins, both in the U.S. and Paris. He became a fashionable painter, and many of the leading collections have his work. Spicuzza's typical works were beach scenes, still life, landscapes and portraits done in pastels, oils, ink, charcoal and watercolors. Much of his work traced the history of Milwaukee in the early 1900s. He was probably best known for his scenes of women and children splashing in the waves...
Category
1910s Francesco Spicuzza Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
Related Items
Basking in the Sun - Mid Century Modern Multicolor Female Figurative
By Jon Blanchette
Located in Soquel, CA
Multi-colored figurative oil painting of a woman in bikini bathing in the California sun by listed California artist Jon Blanchette (American, 1908-1987). The colorful background is...
Category
1950s American Impressionist Francesco Spicuzza Portrait Paintings
Materials
Masonite, Oil
$1,800
H 20 in W 24 in D 1 in
Mid Century Portrait of the Artist
Located in Soquel, CA
Mid-century self-portrait by California artist Myrtle Cureton (American, 1909-2000). Signed "Myrtle Cureton" lower left. Artist's Santa Cruz Art League ...
Category
1950s American Impressionist Francesco Spicuzza Portrait Paintings
Materials
Masonite, Oil
$1,080 Sale Price
20% Off
H 17.75 in W 14.25 in D 0.25 in
A Compelling '50s Mid-Century Modern Portrait of a Young Woman by Francis Chapin
By Francis Chapin
Located in Chicago, IL
A Compelling '50s Mid-Century Modern Portrait of a Young Woman by Francis Chapin. Titled "Red Dress", the painting is oil on Masonite and dates circa 1950. A very well executed, co...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern Francesco Spicuzza Portrait Paintings
Materials
Masonite, Oil
$850
H 12.5 in W 11.5 in D 1 in
Charles Ii King Spain Child Del Mazo Paint 17th Century Oil on canvas Old master
Located in Riva del Garda, IT
Attributed to Juan Bautista Martínez del Mazo (Castile 1611 - Madrid 1667) pupil and collaborator of Diego Velázquez
Portrait of Charles II, King of Spain, as a child (1661 -1700)
Spain, c. 1670 Oil on canvas 68 x 49 cm. - In antique frame 96 x 75 cm.
The analysis of this portrait, and in particular the style with which its features have been outlined, brings us back to the great tradition of the 17th century Spanish school.
The portrait depicts the young King Charles II of Spain, dressed in typical Spanish fashion, the youngest and only son of Philip IV of Spain and his second wife Maria Anna of Austria, as well as the last of the Habsburg dynasty to rule Spain. which portrayed the young ruler in full length at the age of four (dated 1665), dressed in a black suit and cape, and a large feathered...
Category
17th Century Old Masters Francesco Spicuzza Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
$7,028 Sale Price
20% Off
H 37.8 in W 29.53 in
Post Impressionist Portrait Painting with Antique Frame
By Donald Roy Purdy
Located in Washington, DC
Painting by Donald Purdy (1924 - 2016).
Oil on masonite
Measures 25"L x 23"W.
Work is behind glass and comes with exceptional antique frame.
Acquired from the Schoneman Gallery in NY...
Category
1960s Post-Impressionist Francesco Spicuzza Portrait Paintings
Materials
Masonite, Oil
$1,688 Sale Price
24% Off
H 25 in W 23 in
Portrait of a Man Smoking a Pipe in Oil on Masonite
Located in Soquel, CA
Portrait of a Man Smoking a Pipe in Oil on Masonite
Detailed portrait of a man with a pipe by Heinz Robert Schubert (German, 1912-2001 approx.). A man wearing a short-brimmed hat is...
Category
1940s Realist Francesco Spicuzza Portrait Paintings
Materials
Masonite, Oil
$850
H 14 in W 11.5 in D 1 in
Mid Century Portrait -- Freckled Red Head Boy
By Jon Blanchette
Located in Soquel, CA
Mid century portrait of a red-haired boy with freckles by Jon Blanchette (American, 1908-1987). Rendered his signature style, this portrait is clean and vibrant. The subject is looki...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Impressionist Francesco Spicuzza Portrait Paintings
Materials
Masonite, Oil
$1,200 Sale Price
20% Off
H 21.5 in W 17.75 in D 1.5 in
A young poet or artist, French Romantic period portrait of a sensitive figure
Located in Norwich, GB
You will find this young man good company! It is a pleasure to study his thoughtful, sensitive face. He has a benevolent and real presence. To my mind, he certainly has an artistic nature - he looks like a thinker, poet and/or musician.
Dating from what the French call the Romantic Period, the early 1800s, our painting is monogrammed AG and may be attributed to Auguste Glaize.
Born in Montpellier, Auguste Glaize studied under the painters Achille Devéria and Eugène Devéria.
He came to be one of the great French Romantic painters of the early 19th century, marking his career with important history paintings and cycles of monumental religious...
Category
1830s Romantic Francesco Spicuzza Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil, Wood Panel
$1,480
H 12.6 in W 10.63 in D 1.58 in
Portrait Knight Venetian School 17th Century Paint Oil on canvas Old master
Located in Riva del Garda, IT
Venetian School, early 17th century
Portrait of a knight in armour
The inscription at the top, ‘MAR...DIT...VICO’, is only partly legible
Oil on canvas. 81 x 71 cm. - Framed: ...
Category
17th Century Old Masters Francesco Spicuzza Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
$5,937 Sale Price
20% Off
H 36.62 in W 32.68 in
A Charming 1950s Modern Portrait, Girl in White Dress, by Francis Chapin
By Francis Chapin
Located in Chicago, IL
A Charming, 1950s Modern Portrait of a Girl in White Dress by Noted Chicago Artist, Francis Chapin (Am. 1899-1965). Artwork size: 6 1/2” x 5 3/4”. Oil on Masonite. (Framed size: 1...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern Francesco Spicuzza Portrait Paintings
Materials
Masonite, Oil
$850
H 11 in W 10.75 in D 1 in
"Self Portrait, Sketch" oil painting, the artist in thought red shirt, realist
By Steven J. Levin
Located in Sag Harbor, NY
"Self Portrait, sketch" is a realist oil on canvas painting. It is a self portrait of the artist, Steven Levin, sitting in a warmly lit room on a chair with a vase full of paint brus...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Francesco Spicuzza Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
A Fabulous Mid-Century Modern Portrait of a Woman by Noted Artist Francis Chapin
By Francis Chapin
Located in Chicago, IL
A Fabulous Mid-Century Modern Portrait of a Young Woman by Noted Chicago Artist, Francis Chapin (Am. 1899-1965). Depicting a wonderfully fashionable woman dressed in a red sweater, ...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern Francesco Spicuzza Portrait Paintings
Materials
Masonite, Oil
$850
H 11 in W 9.5 in D 1 in
Previously Available Items
'Little Mary Spicuzza' signed oil painting of the artist's niece
By Francesco Spicuzza
Located in Milwaukee, WI
In this haunting yet adoring portrait, Francesco Spicuzza presents to the viewer his niece Mary. Her young face, probably from when about six years old, emerges from a hazy buildup o...
Category
1910s American Impressionist Francesco Spicuzza Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Francesco Spicuzza portrait paintings for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Francesco Spicuzza portrait paintings available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Francesco Spicuzza in oil paint, paint, masonite and more. Not every interior allows for large Francesco Spicuzza portrait paintings, so small editions measuring 38 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Xue Mo, Sir Godfrey Kneller, and Orovida Pissarro. Francesco Spicuzza portrait paintings prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $18,500 and tops out at $33,000, while the average work can sell for $26,800.