Angelo Savelli

Italian painter Angelo Savelli studied painting and graphics at the Accademia delle Belle Arti in Roma, graduating in 1936. He obtained a pilot’s license and a students’ grant from the Ministry of War. In the late 1930s, he served as an infantry officer and was redrafted in 1943 during World War II. After the war, Savelli was influenced by the Futurist circle and one of the founders of the Art Club. Several stays in Paris broadened his artistic view. He became known for abstract figurative paintings, landscapes, and cityscapes. He married journalist Elisabeth Fischer in 1953 and emigrated to New York, where he created mostly screen-prints and monochromatic works, primarily white-on-white.

In 1959, he was appointed director of the “La Guardia Memorial House” art school and three years later became a teacher at the University of Philadelphia. He also taught at Cornell and the University of Texas. Practicing Zen and Yoga, he managed to overcome serious health problems. After the tragic death of his wife in 1982 Savelli returned to Italy for a short period. In 1988, he opened his last studio in New York. While staying in Italy to prepare two personal exhibitions – at the XLVI Biennale di Venezia and the Pecci Museum – he died just weeks before the openings.

The 1948 art catalog lists his entry as Sailing in Venice. In 1946, Savelli painted Gondole a Venezia (oil on canvas, 38.5 x 55 cm). It is unknown whether this was the submitted work.