An Italian-American Painter from Rhode Island Essay by Catherine Little Bert

Antonio Cirino was born in Italy in 1888, immigrated to Providence at age two and was raised among the bustle of Atwells Ave, the center of business and culture for Providence’s Italian population in the early 20th century. A colorful and confident personality, he amused many and enraged others in his lifetime. In 2008 it is his iconic repertoire of paintings, be it the woods of Lincoln, Rhode Island, the little church spire in East Providence or the fisherman in their picturesque old wooden boats in Rockport, that solidify his legacy as a painter. Cirino integrated readily into the Rhode Island community. In a 1980 article he remarked, “Nota Bene! Though I am a native of Serino, Italy, Province of Avellino, I bear the tradmark, ‘Made in the U.S.A.’, because of the influence that public education had on me, kneading me for the life to come.” The artist attended Providence Technical School, graduated from Rhode Island School of Design in 1909 and received a Bachelor’s of Science Degree from Columbia Teachers College in 1912. Then the young man went directly to the Rhode Island School of Design to teach jewelry design commencing a thirty-five year teaching career. He co-authored a significant textbook, Jewelry Making and Design with A.F. Rose. While the number of Italian Americans swelled in Providence from 18,014 in 1894 to 42,044 in 1920, Cirino selected an uncommon path compared to fellow immigrants from his generation. He distinguished himself with a college degree and teaching position in higher education. Cirino, however, always had a driving passion for painting and in the 1920’s began to summer in Rockport where he became one of the founding members of the Rockport Art Association. Rockport became not only an important summer refuge for the artist but a location where he would produce his most important canvases. Critical acclaim would follow along with acceptance into the Salmagundi Club in New York City in 1926 and the Providence Art Club. His fluid painting technique showed a keen understanding of composition and skillful craftsmanship in manipulating oil pigments, especially in the fluttering and lively effects of light reflecting off water. A keen student of nature, Cirino painted outdoors for his entire artistic career. He was a kindred spirit to the Impressionists and focused on his personal interpretation of the subject. In 1949 the New York Times wrote of one of his paintings, Mooring Place “one of the more honest and sensitive examples of this genre.” Throughout his life Cirino not only refined his painting craft but also understood that to insure his legacy he needed to actively promote his work and document his achievements. He did this by winning prizes in juried exhibitions, earning favorable critical reviews and placing his work in important collections. He dedicated much of his energy to achieving these goals and received over seventy- nine prizes for his paintings including the gold Medal of Honor by the Rockport Art Association and the Hope Show prize from the Butler Institute of Art in Youngstown, Ohio. His work is included in numerous collections such as the RISD Museum of Art, Dayton Art Institute and National Academy of Design. As if these accolades were not enough, he assembled his own account of his successful art career in three detailed volumes, giving great insight into his perceptions as a painter. In the opening pages of his third and final volume of 1981 he reflected, “When painting with a lion’s heart and in deep fervor, I wandered through the labyrinths of life, the country side, yea the wood interiors, mountain passes and the shores of the rivers and ocean and running streams conjuring up new worlds of beauty, ideas without ancestors, fact and fancies that stirred complacency and composure all this while in a world of facts or hard realities…” This diminutive figure, with his imposing personality started off in the Federal Hill neighborhood teeming with vendors selling their goods in push carts and the sounds of live chickens and rabbits in wooden cages and went on to achieve great success in the world of art. Upon his death he left the majority of his paintings to the Salmagundi Club in New York City and the Rockport Art Association, two institutions he felt critical to his growth and success as an artist. In addition, he established the Antonio Cirino Memorial Fund at The Rhode Island Foundation to provide scholarships for those pursuing graduate degrees to teach art. Three paintings by Antonio Cirino are included in the Bert Gallery exhibition Struggle, Strength and Dignity. The artist is a fine example of how Italian Americans from Rhode Island journeyed beyond the societal mores of the day establishing successful painting careers in the 20th century.

An essay by Catherine Little Bert

The legacy of African American artists has become an interest of scholars in the last forty years. Prior to this time there is a scarcity of documentation and research. Rhode Island has four significant late 19th and early 20th century African Americans who spent time in the state and achieved national recognition, Edward Mitchell Bannister (1828 – 1901), Nancy Elizabeth Prophet (1890 – 1960), Wilmer Jennings (1910 – 1990) and Frank Alston (1913 – 1978). In the current Bert Gallery exhibit, Strength, Struggle and Dignity, examples of Jennings and Alston are on view through March.

The Rhode Island College has been one of the important educational institutions to highlight the achievements of African American artists. First with dedication of the Rhode Island College Art Center as the Edward M. Bannister Gallery in 1978 and then with the opening of the exhibit Four from Providence: Black Artists in the Rhode Island Social Landscape. The college has partnered with the Rhode Island Black Heritage Society to organize exhibits and stimulate research in this most important area. A pod cast will be posted soon with the Director of the Bannister Gallery, James Montford on the Bert Gallery website discussing African American artists from Rhode Island.

As an African American artist it must have been a particular challenge to reside and build a career in the former slave trade of Rhode Island. Edward Bannister succeeded and one of his major triumphs came when he received the bronze painting medal at the 1876 Centennial in Philadelphia. He became the first African- American artist to receive a national award in 19th century America and he promptly sold his painting “Under the Oaks” for $1,500 to an enthusiastic Boston buyer. Bannister then joined fellow artists Stetson and Whitaker to found the Providence Art Club in 1880, the second oldest art club still in existence. Examples of Bannister’s work are in the collections of the Rhode Island School of Design, Rhode Island College, Rhode Island Historical Society and the Providence Art Club. Bannister has been included in major exhibitions with catalogues such as David Driskell’s Two Centuries of Black American Art; Linda Hartigan of the National Museum of American Art’s Sharing Traditions: Five Black Artists in 19th Century America, 1985; Corrine Jennings’ Edward Mitchell Bannister, 1992 and Juanita Holland’s Edward Bannister, 1993.

Nancy Prophet stands out as remarkable woman artist, the first African American woman to secure a Rhode Island School of Design degree in 1918 and then onto Paris study at the Ecole des Beaux- Arts from 1922 – 1932. While in Paris she exhibited in five highly competitive Salon exhibits only to return home to secure many stateside exhibitions including being among the sculptors exhibited in the Whitney Sculpture Biennial and Harmon Foundation Exhibition. From 1933 to 1944 Prophet headed the Sculpture Department of Spelman College. Currently, an important exhibition of her work is on view at Spelman College Museum of Fine Art, Hale Woodruff, Nancy Elizabeth Prophet and the Academy. Locally, the sculpture of Nancy Prophet is in the collection of the Rhode Island School of Design and the Black Heritage Society. Blossom Kirshenbaum and Jane Lancaster, both scholars living in Rhode Island, have published in depth articles on Nancy Prophet.

Wilmer Jennings

Wilmer Jennings was a talented printmaker who moved to Rhode Island after graduating from Moore-house College in 1933 where he studied with Hale Woodruff and Nancy Prophet. He also studied painting at the Rhode Island School of Design with John Frazier. In the mid 30’s, he worked for the Works Progress Administration (WPA) both in Atlanta and Providence where he became most famous for his black and white wood engravings. Jennings was widely exhibited between 1933 -1942. Jewelry design became his focus in the mid 40’s and he settled into a 45-year career as a designer and innovator in the Rhode Island jewelry industry.

Jennings prints are in the collections of the Brooklyn Museum, Newark Museum, and Atlanta University, Rhode Island School of Design, National Center of African American Art, Smithsonian Institution and the Rhode Island College. Wilmer Jennings’s daughter, Corrine Jennings, is a prominent art dealer who is the Director of the Kenkeleba House in New York City. On exhibit at the Bert Gallery are two engravings by Wilmer
Jennings “Fisherman” courtesy of Kenkeleba House and “Blind Alley” on loan from the Bannister Gallery, Rhode Island College.

Frank Alston

Frank Alston, Jr was born in Providence and attended the Rhode Island School of Design, graduating in 1937. He was known as a painter, lithographer and etcher. He exhibited widely in the 1940’s at Atlanta University, National Gallery, New York World’s Fair, San Francisco Golden Gate Expositions, Corcoran Art Gallery and the New York Historical Society. He worked for many years as a designer in the Army’s Institute of Heraldry. Upon retirement from the army he worked for the Howard University Art Gallery.

In the current Bert Gallery exhibit is an example of a woodcut that Alston executed in his early career while at Rhode Island School of Design. He came under the instruction of the innovative print maker Eliza Gardiner. A tough taskmaster, Gardiner kept in her own collection works by prized students. Alston’s image of a thoughtful young woman was a “keeper” for the teacher’s collection.

For more information on these artists visit the Rhode Island College Archives.

Robert Thornton on exhibition at Bert Gallery through March.

Click Here to View Selection from Thornton Inventory Online

Podcast Interview with Robert Thornton

A discussion of his work, his influences, and his time at Rhode Island School of Design.

Listen Here

About Robert Thornton:

He gave up RISD lens to focus on his own canvas
By Bill VanSiclen, Providence Journal, 1999.

The artist: Robert Thornton, 74.

What he does: painter, photographer
Where he’s been: Born and lives in Providence.
Attended the Rhode Island School of Design.

Man of Mystery: Thornton is a perfect candidate for one of those “Do you know me?” commercials. Though he’s lived in Providence most of his life, and though he’s painted professionally since the mid-1950s, he hasn’t had a gallery show in more than a decade. At the same time, anyone who follows the Rhode Island art scene has probably seen his work.

Who is this mystery man? He’s the former staff photographer for the RISD Museum. “I just kind of fell into it,” Thornton says of the job he held from 1957 to 1992. “I was working as a research assistant when the job opened up. I took it thinking it was a good temporary job. I wound up staying 35 years.”

Painting at night: During the day, Thornton took pictures for posters, catalogs and other museum publications. Then, at night, he’d head back to his studio. “I was always painting,” he says.

But exhibiting was another matter. After winning several awards in the 1960s and ’70s, Thornton decided to stop showing his work. “I just ran out of steam,” he says. His brightly colored paintings pay their respects to many of Thornton’s heroes, including Cezanne, Matisse, Picasso, as well as RISD painters such as Gordon Peers and John Frazier.

Artist’s Statement

My motivation has not so much been the study of the craft of painting, but rather exploring the phenomenon of composing. The challenge is not what to paint but, as always, how to paint it. There is no proscribed process- one invents and reinvents the process as new discoveries emerge. It’s a matter of composting and performing simultaneously. As the painter Milton Avery once said, “Painting is like turning corners. You don’t know what’s there until you get there.”

You’re on our page already, so why not check out some of our newest additions?

Bert Gallery Current Exhibit

Struggle, Strength, and Dignity: Opportunities for 19th & 20th Century Artists in Providence

View Online Slideshow

New inventory added to the Attic Sale…

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Updated Florence Leif Slideshow

View a Selection of Bert’s Leif Inventory

Struggle, Strength and Dignity: Opportunities for 19th and 20th century artists in Providence is an exhibit that explores the assimilation of artists from varying backgrounds into the cultural community. Of particular interest are Women, African American, Italian American and Irish American artists. The first essay on the current exhibit takes a look at a highly successful woman artist in Providence, Emma Swan.

by Catherine Little Bert

May she stand by her colors. In the realm of art woman’s works have spoken for her to show that it is her legitimate domain… In the future artwork will be judged by its intrinsic merit, irrespective of the artist’s sex.
-Sara Eddy, 1884, Rhode Island Woman’s Club papers, Rhode Island Historical Society

ECONOMIC SUCCESS
Overcoming societal barriers, women artists were able to secure a place in the art market by the pursuance of sales and commissions for their work. Emma Swan achieved economic independence through the acceptance of her art by regional patrons. In the late nineteenth century, Swan’s studio in the Wood’s Building was abuzz with activity. Such was her reputation that her studio neighbor, the noted painter E.C. Leavitt, was also her rival for critical acclaim in the area of still life. When not teaching aspiring artists, Swan was busy developing her portfolio for her “eagerly awaited” annual studio exhibits. Many a collector and art enthusiast purchased works from these shows, thus gaining entry into one of the most charming studios in the city. An aesthetic milieu for art, it was noted for being crammed with “old draperies, brick-a-brac and studio furnishings.” Though largely self-taught, Swan spent some time studying with Abbott Thayer. Most of her knowledge, however, was gleaned from the careful observation of the natural world. A large body of work, based on this subject matter, was produced for entry into numerous exhibitions from the 1880’s to the early years of the twentieth century.

During this time, Swan also had a substantial career as a commission portrait painter. Collectors, artists and critical reviewers similarly admired Swan’s painting technique. Whether it be an “exceedingly pleasing painting of a dog,” exquisite morning glories,” or “a rich and harmonious portrait of a golden hair boy,” the artist always received high praise for her work. She was capable of microscopic finish in the age of realism, but as her art matured, color became the dominant factor in her work. In a letter dated 1923, the artist noted, “I feel, more and more that it (color) is a bigger thing in painting than form.” After a long and successful career, Emma Swan was honored by the art establishment with the epithet,” Dean of Rhode Island Women Artist.” Upon her death in 1927, this respected artist and “leading flower painter” left many a female colleague following in her artistic path.

Excerpts from Sketches An Art Journal on the Providence Art Colony 1850 – 1920, Number Two, July of 1991

“Myth of the Dilettante” was one of two pilot issues made possible by a grant from the
Rhode Island Committee for the Humanities, Written by Catherine Little Bert and L.J. McElroy

(left) Cameo Portrait, The Parlor, 1903, Oil on Canvas, 8″ x 6″
(middle) Fall Landscape, Oil on Canvas, 9″ x 9″
(right) Girl in Bonnet, Oil on Board, 20″ x 24″

BIOGRAPHICAL RESEARCH
Known as an artist of nature, Emma Swan was primarily a self-taught painter who went directly to nature for her knowledge and inspiration. She was born and raised in Providence and it was her father, a cameo cutter, who taught her in drawing. The young artist met with success almost immediately, becoming an early member of the Providence Art Club and receiving numerous commissions. It was in 1889 and 1890 that she decided to pursue art training beyond her father’s earlier tutelage. She received professional instruction under Abbott Thayer, one of the leading artists and teachers in the country. Many critics indicated that Swan’s “truth and purity of color” was the result of this instruction (Providence Journal 1990). Additional study followed in Europe where she sketched primarily in Germany and Holland.

Emma Swan is best known for her still life and flower paintings. The paintings she produced were thought to be along original lines. Particularly memorable were her paintings of white roses and violets. In an article in the Providence Journal the writer had this praise for her works, “she undoubtedly ranks first among the women artists in Rhode Island and holds an enviable position among leading artists of the country.”(Providence Journal 1900). Even though she enjoyed tremendous popularity painting still life, Swan later switched to primarily painting portraits. In these works she was known for integrating the figure into the background, be it a landscape or room decor.

Struggle, Strength and Dignity Exhibit Description:
When Roger Williams established the religiously tolerant state of Rhode Island, he imbued a progressive spirit into its legacy. How did the 19th century cultural world embrace this heritage? Afro-American artist Edward Bannister (1881 – 1901) earned a first place medal for painting at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition and went on to found the Providence Art Club in 1880, today the second oldest art club in the country. A woman, Mrs. Jesse Metcalf, founded the Rhode Island School of Design in 1878, training women in respectable art professions when there was few employment opportunities open to single woman. By the twentieth century, Italian and Irish immigrants flooded the state for jobs in the wake of the industrial revolution. Italian born artist, Antonio Cirino (1888 – 1983), is but one personality who entered the competitive academic arena at RISD and the local art scene. This exhibit explores the accomplishments of visual artists in Rhode Island who broke societal mores to achieve recognition.

Cultural Awakenings 2008:

In 2008 Bert Gallery takes a look at the “cultural awakenings” throughout the decades that established Rhode Island as a destination for visual artists. Among the wharfs and warehouses of this small industrial state a cultural identity was born and nurtured.

Struggle, Strength, & Dignity, January-March 2008:

When Roger Williams established the religiously tolerant state of Rhode Island, he imbued a progressive spirit into its legacy. How did the 19th century cultural world embrace this heritage?

Afro-American artist Edward Bannister (1881 - 1901) earned a first place medal for painting at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition and went on to found the Providence Art Club in 1880, today the second oldest art club in the country.

A woman, Mrs. Jesse Metcalf, founded the Rhode Island School of Design in 1878, training women in respectable art professions when there was few employment opportunities open to single woman.

By the twentieth century, Italian and Irish immigrants flooded the state for jobs in the wake of the industrial revolution. Italian born artist, Antonio Cirino (1888 - 1983), is but one personality who entered the competitive academic arena at RISD and the local art scene.

This exhibit explores the accomplishments of visual artists in Rhode Island who broke societal mores to achieve recognition.

Antonio Cirino, Rockport Harbor; Helena Sturtevant, Notre Dame; Spencer Crooks, South Water Street

Providence Business News

Page 12
Dec. 24-30, 2007
www.pbn.com

Marketing, patience build gallery:
Bert Gallery makes appeals to art collectors outside Rhode Island too.

By Natalie Myers
MYERS@PBN.COM

COMPANY PROFILE

Bert Gallery
OWNER: Catherine Little Bert
TYPE OF BUSINESS: Art Gallery
LOCATION: 540 South Water St., Providence
EMPLOYEES: 2
YEAR ESTABLISHED: 1985
ANNUAL REVENUE: WND

As soon as visitors walk into Catherine Little Bert’s gallery on the East Side of Providence, they see her diverse taste. Though the first room is filled with historical artwork by Rhode Island artists, mostly from the mid 1800s through the late 1900s, large, bold canvases of contemporary art are seen peeking from the next room.

Sitting on a chaise lounge underneath gold-framed landscapes and still lifes, Bert said she’s sold hundreds of paintings by Rhode Island artists, both contemporary and historical, in the past 22 years. When she opened Bert Gallery downtown in 1985 at the Providence Biltmore, there wasn’t a large audience, particularly locally, interested in buying art. Some argue the same is true today.

But Bert learned at that time that I she wanted to build an audience she would need to concentrate on marketing her gallery and building a collector base outside the region. “Opening a gallery in a hotel also made me very cognizant that there are people who come to Providence from other places,” she said. “I was able to develop patrons or clients whose children have gone to Brown or were traveling for business and came into the city.”

About 60 percent of Bert’s business comes from art collectors living outside the state, particularly collectors interested in historic art, because many of those artists have a national reputation. “Historic is a little easier,” she said. “I would do advertising. I’d write and I’d research and try to come up with exhibitions I could get coverage on.”

Last year, for example, she wrote a lecture series about the historical difference in prices of artwork done by male versus female artists in the auction market. A portion of the series was published in Arts & Antiques magazine.

Bert has also changed with the times in utilizing the Internet and new technology. She has done so by advertising programming for her exhibits through e-mail blasts and blogs. She posts the e-mail blast content on a blog on the gallery’s Web site, www.bertgallery.com, for those who do not wish to receive the e-mails.

This year for the exhibit “What is original art? Is it a Giclee? She had a group of photographers, a digital printmaker and Pawtucket-based printmaker iolabs discuss in a public forum their views about Giclee, a process used to reproduce art. Bert recorded the forum and made it downloadable from her Web site for patrons who couldn’t attend.

In some ways, the programming is a marketing tactic for the gallery, because different subject matter appeals to different people, thus attracting a diverse audience into the gallery. “You have to develop a very large audience to support a gallery,” she added.

But not all of the people who come to the forums or stop by the gallery during Gallery Night Providence purchase art right away, she said. “They may come in and really like what they see, but then it might take them a long time to make a decision,” Bert said. “A lot of my sales are a year later.”

When asked how she comes up with ideas for exhibits such as the gallery’s current exhibit, “I could paint that,” which outlines the amount of art education, training, and experience it takes to become an artist, Bert said: “You have to be mindful of what’s going on in the market. I can’t tell you how many times people come in and say, ‘I could paint that.’”

Bert’s programming and historical research are two ways she creatively markets and builds an audience for the artwork she sells. “As creative as an artist is, you have to be creative in business in terms of listening to what people are saying to you, listening to what the artists are saying to you and to take and really translate that,” she said.

But Bert said she has to pay attention to financial realities as well. Sometimes she has to tell a contemporary artist whose work she likes that she can’t sell it, because she doesn’t have an audience for the work or the price points aren’t right. Having reasonable price points of $500 to $5,000 also contributes to the success of the gallery, she said. More than anything, though, the success of the gallery has depended on a reputation for being reliable. “The hardest part for galleries is being able to stay in business long enough…to build up that following,” she said.

Thankfully, Bert’s approach has yielded results. The gallery’s sales have grown five-fold since it opened and Bert has no reason to think sales with slow.