Art History
I haven't written these sections yet. If you're curious about a specific topic, prod me with an e-mail, and I will get on it.
Birth of 20th-century, "Modern" art in New York City
Modern art was being shown in Donatus Buongiorno's neighborhood while he was in New York. Was he aware of it? Did he visit the Macbeth and 291 galleries? Most of his work shows no influence. [Lucia essay]Armory Show, 1913
The famous Armory Show which introduced modern art from France to America, was held in the 69th Regiment Armory, on Lexington Avenue between East 25th and East 26th streets, while Donatus Buongiorno had a studio 14 blocks south at East 11th Street. A few years after the show, Buongiorno had a studio on East 23rd Street, in the same building as Walter Kuhn, one of the organizers of the show. Did they know each other? Did Buongiorno see the Armory Show?Ashcan School
One of New York's contributions to the canon of modern art—The Ashcan School—developed among galleries and artists with studios in Donatus Buongiorno's Union Square neighborhood. Was he aware of their work? This terrific website about John Sloan's work illustrates this period brilliantly.Worlds Fairs
Was Donatus Buongiorno's painting of U.S. President William McKinley exhibited at the Pan-American Exposition of 1901 in Buffalo, New York?Art Congresses
One of Donatus Buongiorno's biographies mentions an art "congress," but I couldn't figure out where or when.Accademia di Belle Arti di Napoli
Donatus Buongiorno completed a course of study at the Academy of Fine Arts of Naples (then known as the Royal academy, misspelled as "Roil" in many online biographies) in the late 1880s and may have taught there before emigrating to the U.S. in 1892. I have many questions about his classmates (some of whom I believe I have identified by finding period paintings of the same subjects in the same poses as Buongiorno paintings), peers, teachers and mentors, but I haven't had good luck communicating with anyone there. I wonder if they have records of his stint there or any of his paintings.
