Skip to main content

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.
(Biography provided by J Gold Fine Art)
to
3
2
1
3
1
2
Overall Height
to
Overall Width
to
2
2
2
1
1
3
2
1
17
178
98
67
65
3
3
1
1
Artist: Francesco Spicuzza
'My Mother' Original Oil Painting Signed by Francesco Spicuzza
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

'My Father' Original Oil Painting Signed by Francesco Spicuzza
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

"Self Portrait, " Oil on Masonite signed by Francesco Spicuzza
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

Related Items
Portrait of a Bewigged Gentleman
By Vittore Ghislandi
Located in New York, NY
Vittore Ghislandi, called Fra Galgario Provenance: Robert L. and Bertina Suida Manning, New York, ca. 1966-1996 Private Collection, USA Exhibited: “Eighteenth Century European Pai...
Category

18th Century Baroque Francesco Spicuzza Portrait Paintings

Materials

Copper

"Don't Cry Long" Abstracted and Distorted Self-Portrait, One Crying Eye
Located in Detroit, MI
"Don't Cry Long" is a self-portrait of the artist and an unusual one at that in which the artist portrays herself shedding tears. Perhaps it is an expression of some grief experienced by Ms. Woodlock, but it also admonishes her to not "Cry Long" while at the same time poking fun because of her elongated face and the one lone "long" tear tracing a pattern down her face. In addition to self-portraits, Ethelyn painted commissioned portraits. In this painting her head is cocked and her famous bangs hang down her forehead. Compare two self-portraits, “Up From Under”, and “M’Eyes" to "Don't Cry Long." The major differences are the close facial view and the brilliant blood red paint that fills the entire canvas. This painting is included in the book, "Dreams Have Wings: An Artist's Journey into Magic and Mystery" printed in the United States, 1985. She describes "Don't Cry Long" as showing how funny looking we are, if we cry too long. Ethelyn Woodlock...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Modern Francesco Spicuzza Portrait Paintings

Materials

Masonite, Oil

Abstract portrait with antique frame, 1950s/60s
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 Modern Francesco Spicuzza Portrait Paintings

Materials

Masonite, Oil

Italian 18th Century Oval Religious Oil on Canvas Painting with Saint Dominic
By Francesco de Mura
Located in Firenze, IT
This beautiful Italian 18th Century old masters oil painting on oval canvas with giltwood frame is attributed to Solimena and features a religious scene. In this splendid oval-shaped painting are depicted Saint Dominic...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Francesco Spicuzza Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

St. Vincent Ferrer Preaching to the People of Salamanca
Located in New York, NY
Provenance: Private Collection, New Jersey The present painting depicts Saint Vincent Ferrer preaching from a raised pulpit to a group of seven peopl...
Category

15th Century and Earlier Renaissance Francesco Spicuzza Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

Mid Century Portrait of a Girl in Bonnet
By Helen Enoch Gleiforst
Located in Soquel, CA
Mid century portrait of a girl in bonnet by listed artist Helen Mae Enoch Gleiforst (American,1903-1997), circa 1950. Unframed. Signed "Gleiforst" lower left corner. Image size: 20"H...
Category

1950s American Impressionist Francesco Spicuzza Portrait Paintings

Materials

Masonite, Oil

Venice Landscape Italian Oil on Canvas Painting in Gilt Wood Frame, Belle Epoque
Located in Firenze, IT
This delightful turn of the century (early 20th century) oil on canvas painting represents an Italian landscape with one of the most famous squares in the world: Piazza San Marco in ...
Category

Early 20th Century Impressionist Francesco Spicuzza Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Saint Martin de Porres
Located in New York, NY
Provenance: Private Collection, New York, until 2022. Martín de Porres was born in Lima in 1579, the illegitimate son of a Spanish-American father, J...
Category

Late 18th Century Francesco Spicuzza Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait of a Lady with a Chiqueador
Located in New York, NY
Provenance: Torres Family Collection, Asunción, Paraguay, ca. 1967-2017 While the genre of portraiture flourished in the New World, very few examples of early Spanish colonial portraits have survived to the present day. This remarkable painting is a rare example of female portraiture, depicting a member of the highest echelons of society in Cuzco during the last quarter of the 17th century. Its most distinctive feature is the false beauty mark (called a chiqueador) that the sitter wears on her left temple. Chiqueadores served both a cosmetic and medicinal function. In addition to beautifying their wearers, these silk or velvet pouches often contained medicinal herbs thought to cure headaches. This painting depicts an unidentified lady from the Creole elite in Cuzco. Her formal posture and black costume are both typical of the established conventions of period portraiture and in line with the severe fashion of the Spanish court under the reign of Charles II, which remained current until the 18th century. She is shown in three-quarter profile, her long braids tied with soft pink bows and decorated with quatrefoil flowers, likely made of silver. Her facial features are idealized and rendered with great subtly, particularly in the rosy cheeks. While this portrait lacks the conventional coat of arms or cartouche that identifies the sitter, her high status is made clear by the wealth of jewels and luxury materials present in the painting. She is placed in an interior, set off against the red velvet curtain tied in the middle with a knot on her right, and the table covered with gold-trimmed red velvet cloth at the left. The sitter wears a four-tier pearl necklace with a knot in the center with matching three-tiered pearl bracelets and a cross-shaped earing with three increasingly large pearls. She also has several gold and silver rings on both hands—one holds a pair of silver gloves with red lining and the other is posed on a golden metal box, possibly a jewelry box. The materials of her costume are also of the highest quality, particularly the white lace trim of her wide neckline and circular cuffs. The historical moment in which this painting was produced was particularly rich in commissions of this kind. Following his arrival in Cuzco from Spain in the early 1670’s, bishop Manuel de Mollinedo y Angulo actively promoted the emergence of a distinctive regional school of painting in the city. Additionally, with the increase of wealth and economic prosperity in the New World, portraits quickly became a way for the growing elite class to celebrate their place in society and to preserve their memory. Portraits like this one would have been prominently displayed in a family’s home, perhaps in a dynastic portrait gallery. We are grateful to Professor Luis Eduardo Wuffarden for his assistance cataloguing this painting on the basis of high-resolution images. He has written that “the sober palette of the canvas, the quality of the pigments, the degree of aging, and the craquelure pattern on the painting layer confirm it to be an authentic and representative work of the Cuzco school of painting...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Francesco Spicuzza Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Idle Hour, Impressionist figurative Garden landscape
By Donald Roy Purdy
Located in Greenwich, CT
Idle Hour is an intricately painted Impressionist depiction of woman with her pets on her veranda. It is exquisitely framed in a French Gold Leaf frame of quality and value. Paint...
Category

Late 20th Century Impressionist Francesco Spicuzza Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Masonite

Portrait of a Gentleman
By Ippolito Scarsella (Scarsellino)
Located in New York, NY
Provenance: Suida-Manning Collection, New York Private Collection Exhibited: Venetian Paintings of the Sixteenth Century, Finch College Museum of Art, New York, October 30-December 15, 1963, no. 31. Veronese & His Studio in North American Collections, Birmingham Museum of Art, Oct. 1-Nov. 15, 1972, and Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, Dec. 5-Dec. 31, 1972 Literature: Robert L. Manning, A Loan Exhibition of Venetian Paintings of the Sixteenth Century, exh. cat. New York 1963, cat. no. 31ill., as by Veronese Stephen Clayton and Edward Weeks, eds., introduction by David Rosand, Veronese & His Studio in North American Collections, Birmingham 1972, as by Veronese, p. 38 ill. Terisio Pignatti, Veronese, Venice 1976, I, p. 199, cat. no. A225, II, fig. 908, as attributed to Veronese Terisio Pignatti and Filippo Pedrocco, Veronese; catalogo completo dei dipinti, Florence 1991, no. 54°, as attributed to Veronese. Terisio Pignatti and Filippo Pedrocco, Veronese, Milan 1995, II, pp. 517-518ill., cat. no. A 56, under attributed paintings, by Veronese and workshop) John Garton, Grace and Grandeur; The Portraiture of Paolo Veronese, London-Turnhout 2008, p. 237, fig. 77, cat. no. R16, as workshop of Veronese. Scarsellino’s art is widely regarded as critical link between the Renaissance and the Baroque styles in Emilian painting; not only was he an important transmitter of the heritage of the Renaissance, but he was also open to innovative ideas, and was one of the earliest to experiment with the trend to naturalism that would become fundamental to art of the new century. Born around 1550, he received his earliest training from his father Sigismondo, an architect and painter; it was probably while working at his father’s side as a youth that he acquired the nickname Scarsellino, or “little Scarsella”. After absorbing the principles of his art in Ferrara and Parma, he went to Venice in 1570, staying for four years and working in the shop of Veronese. In the following decade, his art —especially in terms of its piety and its development of landscape— demonstrates a strong sympathy with that of the Carracci, with whom he worked in 1592-1593 at the Palazzo dei Diamanti in Ferrara. Maria Angela Novelli and later Alessandra Frabetti both propose that Scarsellino traveled to Rome, although such a trip has not been documented; if he did travel to Rome, it probably would have occurred during the years that Scarsellino’s colleagues Agostino and Annibale Carracci were there, that is, beginning in 1595 and until 1609. The last decades of Scarsellino’s career again involve stylistic experimentation, this time in a manner that would bring his work very close to the progressive figurative naturalism of Carlo Bononi and prepare the way for Guercino. The present portrait of a distinguished gentleman had been long thought to be by Paolo Veronese and was in fact attributed to him by such distinguished connoisseurs as Adolfo Venturi and Wilhelm Suida. The portrait’s style is, however, distinct from Veronese’s, although clearly indebted to it, and the attribution to the young Scarsellino is wholly convincing. The painting would then date from the 1570s – a date confirmed by the costume the subject wears. The puffed hat that appears in the painting had a rather short-lived vogue in the early 1570s. One sees it in Giambattista Moroni’s Portrait of Count...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Baroque Francesco Spicuzza Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Harry McCormick "The Artist Studio" Original Oil Painting c.1970
By Harry McCormick
Located in San Francisco, CA
Harry McCormick (New York, b. 1942) "The Artist Studio" Original Oil Painting c.1970s Magnificent realist painting by New York artist Harry McCormick. Harry McCormick is a painter ...
Category

Mid-20th Century Impressionist Francesco Spicuzza Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Masonite

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.

Recently Viewed

View All