Francesco Spicuzza Photography

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.

Artist: Francesco Spicuzza

Francesco Spicuzza"Children Playing in Water-Lake Michigan (The Splash), " a Siver Gelatin Photo, c. 1910

$7,400

"Children Playing in Water-Lake Michigan (The Splash), " a Siver Gelatin Photo

By Francesco Spicuzza

Located in Milwaukee, WI

"Children Playing in Water-Lake Michigan (The Splash)" is a black and white silver gelatin photo (with grid) by Francesco Spicuzza. It depicts four children playing and splashing in a lake. 12 1/8" x 11" photo 17 1/4" x 17 1/4" frame Unsigned. This is a gridded reference photo used to produce a finished artwork. 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

Early 20th Century Other Art Style Francesco Spicuzza Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper

Olha Stepanian"Men" Black & White Photography 24" x 24" inch Edition 4/15 by Olha Stepanian, 2017

$1,400

H 24 in W 24 in D 0.1 in

"Men" Black & White Photography 24" x 24" inch Edition 4/15 by Olha Stepanian

By Olha Stepanian

Located in Culver City, CA

"Men" Black & White Photography 24" x 24" inch Edition 4/15 by Olha Stepanian Printed on Epson Professional Paper Signed and numbered by the artist Comes with COA issued by ...

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21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Francesco Spicuzza Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper

Olha Stepanian"One Heart" Black & White Photography 39" x 39" in Ed. of 3 by Olha Stepanian, 2021

$210

H 3.94 in W 6.3 in D 0.04 in

Vintage Photograph of a Painting by Beppe Guzzi - Mid 20th Century

Located in Roma, IT

Photograph of a Painting by Beppe Guzzi is a black and white vintage photo realized by an anonymous artist in the mid-20th Century. Good conditions except for some minor fixings. T...

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Mid-20th Century Modern Francesco Spicuzza Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper

Tamamura KōzaburōKasuga at Nara – Original hand-colored Meiji Era photgraph, Japan, 1890

$400

H 7.88 in W 10.04 in

Kasuga at Nara – Original hand-colored Meiji Era photgraph, Japan

Located in Middletown, NY

Tokyo, Japan: c 1890. Hand-tinted albumen print, 7 5/8 x 10 inches (200 x 255 mm), pasted on light album board, numbered 956 and captioned in negative at lower right; housed in an a...

Category

Late 19th Century Realist Francesco Spicuzza Photography

Materials

Watercolor, Photographic Paper

$400

H 7.49 in W 9.53 in

Wisteria Blossoms Kameido Tokyo – hand-colored Meiji era photograph, Japan

Located in Middletown, NY

Yokohama, Japan: c 1900. Hand-tinted albumen print, 7 3/4 x 9 1/2 inches (190 x 242 mm), numbered A 536 in negative and captioned on lower right. Unmounted; housed in an archival ma...

Category

Late 19th Century Realist Francesco Spicuzza Photography

Materials

Watercolor, Photographic Paper

Francesco Spicuzza photography for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Francesco Spicuzza photography available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Francesco Spicuzza in paper, photographic paper and more. Not every interior allows for large Francesco Spicuzza photography, so small editions measuring 18 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Lucio Carvalho, Keun Young Park, and Greg Lotus. Francesco Spicuzza photography prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $7,400 and tops out at $7,400, while the average work can sell for $7,400.