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Gregorio PrestopinoThe Junkman's Serenade oil painting by Gregorio PrestopinoCirca 1935
Circa 1935
About the Item
This work epitomizes Prestopino's interest in social realism which captures a quiet interlude in the everyday life of an "everyman." It also provides a contrast for our expectations as we view a tough, blue collar worker, with no one watching, as he sings a melody to the birds.
In an original frame measuring 49" x 39" x 3.25"
Provenance: Edith Halpert's Downtown Gallery (label verso from 13 w. 113th street, where the gallery was located from 1926 until 1939)
Private collection, NYC, c. 1935
By descent
About this artist: Born in Little Italy in 1907, Gregorio Prestopino first set out to become a sign painter as the son of New York City immigrants. Instead, his talent provided a life-changing scholarship to the National Academy of Design, and for five years he studied drawing under C. W. Hawthorne. He spent the summer of 1934 at the MacDowell Colony in Peterborough, New Hampshire. His deep involvement with the colony led him to later serve as its director in 1954.
Much of Prestopino’s work was in the vein of social realism. During the 1940s and 1950s he became deeply invested in portraying everyday Manhattan and Harlem scenes. He first became interested in the Ashcan school at the National Academy of Design, and remained committed to an interest in working with urban scenes. His lively treatment of people and events revealed his affinity for sixteenth-century artist Pieter Breughel. Later in his career, he focused on producing images of nudes and picturesque New Hampshire landscapes, and investigated the relationship between color and form.
Prestopino exhibited at several biennials at the Corcoran Gallery, at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Modern Art. His work was frequently shown at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, where he was awarded the Temple Gold Medal in 1946 and an additional prize in 1952. He was awarded a National Institute of Arts and Letter Grant in 1961, and in 1972 the National Academy of Design awarded him the Altman Figure Painting Award.
Prestopino’s artistic cache skyrocketed when Life magazine published his images from New York’s maximum security institution Green Haven as part of its “Prison Series” in 1957. That same year his paintings and sketches of urban life were featured in the short film Harlem Wednesday. Directed by John and Faith Hubley, the film included a jazz score from Benny Carter, and was the only prize-winning American entry to that year’s Venice Film Festival.
By Zenobia Grant Wingate
- Creator:Gregorio Prestopino (1907-1984, American)
- Creation Year:Circa 1935
- Dimensions:Height: 36 in (91.44 cm)Width: 26 in (66.04 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:Hudson, NY
- Reference Number:
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