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Letterio Calapai. 1902-1993. Art

American, Italian, 1902-1993

As American art of the 1930s and 1940s has become increasingly sought after, Letterio Calapai’s wood engravings have been rediscovered, and there is a growing realization that he was among the more distinguished artists working in this idiom during this period. Born in Boston, Calapai studied at the Mass. School of Art, the Art Students League, and the American Artists School. He was a student of Robert Laurent, Ben Shahn, and Stanley Hayter. From 1949–55, he was chairman of the Graphics Arts Department at Albright Art School at Buffalo and taught at the New School in New York from 1955-62. He was the founder and director of the Intaglio Workshop for Advance Printmaking in New York from 1960–65 and then became a professor of art at the University of Illinois.

(Biography provided by Harris Schrank Fine Prints)
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Letterio Calapai, (Sky Abstraction), 1957, mid-century wood engraving
Letterio Calapai, (Sky Abstraction), 1957, mid-century wood engraving

Letterio Calapai, (Sky Abstraction), 1957, mid-century wood engraving

By Letterio Calapai

Located in New York, NY

Letterio Calapai is widely recognized as a major American artist of the twentieth century. He is widely respected as a printmaker, especially for engravings and wood engravings, and ...

Category

1950s American Modern Letterio Calapai. 1902-1993. Art

Materials

Woodcut

"Labor in a Diesel Plant" Machine Age American Scene Industrial Mid 20th Century
"Labor in a Diesel Plant" Machine Age American Scene Industrial Mid 20th Century

"Labor in a Diesel Plant" Machine Age American Scene Industrial Mid 20th Century

By Letterio Calapai

Located in New York, NY

"Labor in a Diesel Plant" Machine Age American Scene Industrial Mid 20th Century Letterio Calapai (American 1902-1993) ''Labor in A Diesel Plant'' Wood engraving, 1940 17 x 10 1/2...

Category

1940s American Modern Letterio Calapai. 1902-1993. Art

Materials

Lithograph

8:30 EXPRESS

8:30 EXPRESS

By Letterio Calapai

Located in Portland, ME

Calapai, Letterio (American, 1902-1993). 8:30 EXPRESS. Wood-engraving, 1943. Edition of 27, numbered "1/27" and titled and signed in pencil. 5 5/8 x 8 3/8 inches (image), 9 1/8 x 12 ...

Category

1940s Letterio Calapai. 1902-1993. Art

Materials

Woodcut

ROCKWELL KENT'S STUDIO
ROCKWELL KENT'S STUDIO

ROCKWELL KENT'S STUDIO

By Letterio Calapai

Located in Portland, ME

Calapai, Letterio. ROCKWELL KENT'S STUDIO. Wood engraving, 1980. Titled, numbered 7/75 and signed in pencil. 6 x 8 7/16 inches, 153 x 216 mm. In very good condition. Framed.

Category

1980s American Realist Letterio Calapai. 1902-1993. Art

Materials

Engraving, Woodcut

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Previously Available Items
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"Labor in a Diesel Plant" Machine Age American Scene Industrial Mid 20th Century Letterio Calapai (American 1902-1993) ''Labor in A Diesel Plant'' Wood engraving, 1940 17 x 10 1/2' inches (sight) Signed, titled and annotated 'artist's proof' and inscribed 'To Angelo Pastor with admiration' LC in pencil. BIO The outstanding printmaker Letterio Calapai (1902-1993) was born in Boston where he undertook basic art studies. In addition, he enrolled in the Art Students League in New York and named the following as his private teachers: Ben Shahn, Robert Laurent and Charles Hopkinson. Calapai became a member of the National Society of Mural Painters, the Atelier 17 Group of Northwest Printmakers, the Springfield, Massachusetts Art League and the Baltimore Watercolor Club, as well a the Society of American Graphic Artists. In 1934 Calapai turned to printmaking almost exclusively and exhibited three works at Salons of America: Eleanora, Odalisque and Portrait. In the same year at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts he exhibited The Negress. Two years later his watercolor, Maine Islands No. 7 was on view at the Art Institute of Chicago's winter show. In 1977 the Workshop Gallery in Glencoe, Illinois held a retrospective exhibition of Calapai's woodcuts and wood engravings. The artist's works are to be found in the following museums: the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, MA), the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the New York Public Library, Columbia University, Princeton University, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Kunsthaus in Zurich, the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, in addition to many more museums all over the world. Calapai executed a mural in Brooklyn's 101st Battalion Armory and he illustrated books, for instance, Look Homeward, Angel, a portfolio of wood engravings inspired by Thomas Wolfe...

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Letterio Calapai (1902-1993), Eight-Thirty Express, wood engraving, 1943, signed and dated ’43 lower right, titled and inscribed trial proof 3 bottom left in pencil [with the monogra...

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1940s American Modern Letterio Calapai. 1902-1993. Art

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Letterio Calapai art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Letterio Calapai art available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Letterio Calapai in woodcut print, engraving and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the modern style. Not every interior allows for large Letterio Calapai art, so small editions measuring 16 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Frank Wootton, Felix de Weldon , and Cecil Crosley Bell. Letterio Calapai art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $375 and tops out at $2,800, while the average work can sell for $1,650.

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