Salvatore Scarpitta

Born in Palermo, Italy, Salvatore Scarpitta was a sculptor of figure and religious subjects whose studio was first in New York City and then in Los Angeles.

He graduated from the Royal Italian Academy and then emigrated to the United States in 1910, staying in New York until 1923 and then settling in Los Angeles, California until his death in 1948. There he completed numerous public sculptures including work for the Church of St. John the Evangelist, Church of the Sacred Blood, and the Los Angeles Stock Exchange. Other work included a life-size statue of Marlene Dietrich for the movie "Song of Songs", a portrait of Mussolini for the New Forum in Rome, and a portrait bust of Frank Springer, one of the founders of the Museum of Fine Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

In New York, he was a member of the National Sculpture Society and the New York Numismatic Society and was decorated by the Japanese and Cuban governments. In 1914, he won the Barnett prize from the National Academy of Design.

In addition to the Milwaukee Art Institute and the San Diego Museum, his work is in Los Angeles in the Church of St. John the Evangelist, Church of the Sacred Blood, Stock Exchange Building, County Hospital and the Hall of Justice.

Source:

Edan Hughes, "Artists in California, 1786-1940"

Peter Falk, "Who Was Who in American Art"

Dean Porter, etc. "Taos Artists and Their Patrons"