Luigi Lucioni
American, 1900-1988
Luigi Lucioni was born in Malnate, Italy, which lies in a mountainous region approximately 30 miles north of Milan. Angelo, Luigi's father, emigrated to New York City in 1906, and after establishing himself as a coppersmith and tinsmith, sent for the rest of the family. When the family arrived in New York by ship, they were transferred to Ellis Island. They ended up in New Jersey. Lucioni spent four years learning English on the streets of his newly adopted country, and was not placed in first grade until age 11. His life as an American was initially difficult for him, as he endured some bigotry from neighborhood children. After completing the eighth grade, he did not attend school until college. At age 15, Lucioni entered a competition for admission to Cooper Union and was accepted, taking evening classes while working at a Brooklyn engraving company during the day. At age 19, Lucioni entered New York City's National Academy of Design, where he was introduced to the medium of etching through his instructor in that discipline, William Auerbach-Levy. Lucioni attended school in the morning, and worked in the art department at Fairchild Publications, which published Women's Wear Daily. He also took composition classes at Cooper Union. Luigi received a scholarship to the Tiffany Foundation and was painting landscapes out-of-doors. He soon discovered that drawing landscapes was not something he enjoyed. From the mid-twenties onward then he moved towards realism.
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