T O N Y SCHIAVO

Artista monrealese

Tony Schiavo a Monreale

Antonino Davide Schiavo (Anthony o Tony per gli Americani) nasce a Monreale nel 1936.

Negli anni '50, frequenta gli studi ginnasiali presso l'Istituto "Guglielmo II°"e, nelle ore pomeridiane, i corsi per Mosaicisti presso la Basilica Metropolitana di Monreale precisamente nel Teatro San Placido del Palazzo Arcivescovile.

Due anni dopo (1952/'53), ottiene il certificato di mosaicista dopo lodevole profitto e con gli insegnanti Prof. Benedetto Messina e Prof. Romano.
Del Professore Benedetto Messina, fondatore della Scuola d'Arte di Monreale e per questo definito il "patriarca" dell'arte monrealese, rimane il ricordo di un'antica testimonianza di collaborazione tra i due artisti.

Infatti, dal libro dedicato al Professore Messina, in occasione di una Mostra Personale, con la presentazione curata dal noto critico d'arte Antonina Greco si rileva infatti che: ..." I tratti fisionomici della testa in bronzo dell''80 riproducono il volto di Tonino Schiavo, un giovane allievo e collaboratore dell'artista, ora in America e perciò reso secondo l'immagine restituita dalla memoria. E tuttavia nel realismo della figura ancora una volta Messina coglie la somiglianza fisica del personaggio e va oltre quando lascia leggere i particolari più spiccati della sua personalità. Come è caratteristica ricorrente negli altri ritratti....".

"Tony Schiavo" bronzo - grandezza quasi al vero

Nel 1954, Schiavo parte per gli Stati Uniti.

Lì, inizia la carriera di attività musiva presso lo studio nella Contea di Queens.

E' inevitabile l'incontro con grandi e famosi artisti quali Hans Hoffman, Ben Shahn, Gregorio Prestopino e Lumen Martin Winter dai quali, con capacità eclettica, riesce ad assorbire e far tesoro dell'essenza della loro Arte.

Disegna ed esegue innumerevoli lavori d'arte per chiese, palazzi governativi, ospedali, scuole e residence.

Il suo più grande mosaico, realizzato in collaborazione con Demetrios Dukas, è quello creato per Santa Sofia, imponente Cattedrale Greca in Washington, D.C.

Negli anni '80, contemporaneamente al mosaico, studia e riceve il Bachelor of Art presso The School of Visual Art di New York.

Dall'incontro con Vincent Norrito, nasce a New York nel 1983 la "N Group LTD", dinamica agenzia di pianificazione dei mezzi e di controllo pubblicitario. L'agenzia offre tutti i servizi pubblicitari: dall'analisi dei budget di investimento allo studio dell'immagine aziendale, dal marketing alla realizzazione dei depliant, dalla comunicazione sulle testate giornalistiche fino ai network televisivi.

Nel 1990/'91, presta il suo knoledge ad un programma della Regione Siciliana "That's Sicily", creando una immagine positiva per la Sicilia e per i Siciliani, mediante incontri, mostre e seminars, figurando i grandi talenti artistici Siciliani, sia nella Musica che nell' Arte.

Fra i grandi artisti figurano la grande Ceramista Elisa Messina, Saverio Terruso, Alberto Abate, Alfio Cristaudo, Fabrice Denola, Bobo Otera, Salvatore Pulvirenti, Rosario Tornatore e tantissimi altri artisti, inoltre scienziati e vari Studiosi Siciliani.

Questo per Schiavo è il trionfo personale per la sua amata Sicilia.

Dal 2002 ad oggi continua a creare Mosaico.

Parecchie onorificenze da elencare:

Membro della National Society of Mural Painters

Curatore d'arte musiva presso ART MUSEUM della Università di Princeton

Maestro d'arte musiva della Skowhegan School of PAINTING e SCULPTURE nello Stato del Maine

Unico Siciliano ad avere un Mural in un museo americano.

3 Certificati di "Achievement of Excellence i Advertising" ed altri Advertising Awards of Merit.

(Tony Schiavo)

La Rocca di Gibilterra su un enorme pannello a mosaico disegnato da Hildreth Mejere per un edificio Prudential Insurance, è stato recentemente riscoperto in un deposito e trasferito al Museo di Newark

Simbolo di forza aziendale, originariamente il pannello del peso di due tonnellate, misurava metri 7 x 6, successivamente, per il trasporto e per farlo entrare dalla porta del Museo, circa 4 metri e mezzo x 4 perchè è stato necessario tagliarlo in due pezzi.
Il pannello di mosaico in marmo raffigura Ercole in vela oltre la Rocca di Gibilterra. L'artista mosaicista Anthony D. Schiavo in un'intervista ha dichiarato di avere lavorato al montaggio originale Prudential con il progettista ed artista Hildreth Meiere http://www.hildrethmeiere.com (Art Deco) e conferma la collocazione definitiva nella nuova sede. Meiere era un tipo distinto, gentile, diplomatico e avventuroso. A partire dagli anni 1910, Meiere ha viaggiato per centinaia di commissioni presso uffici, case, edifici religiosi e governativi sparsi per Rhode Island a sud della California. Tanto intelligente, da lasciare liberi gli altri artisti che realizzavano le scogliere, le onde, tutta l'immagine.

La figlia Louise Meiere Dunn e la nipote Hildreth Dunn che gestisce l'Internazionale Hildreth Meiere Associazione a Stamford, Connecticut, hanno chiesto al Sig. Schiavo di contribuire a spostare le scaglie di marmo che aveva assemblati come un giovane artigiano a Long Island City, Queens, società denominata V. Foscato.
La lastra dapprima è stata presentata, sotto l'occhio vigile del Sig. Schiavo, in un parcheggio di fabbrica nella città nord del New Jersey.

Il marmo utilizzato è stato estratto dall'Irlanda, Italia, Belgio,Turchia ed era nei toni verde, viola, avorio, grigio. Il Sig. Schiavo a proposito dei colori ha fatto sapere che con un bagno di acido delicato e acqua ritornerebbero nuovamente lucidi come nuovi.
Catherine Coleman Brawer, uno storico che sta lavorando su una monografia Meiere con l'autore Kathleen Murphy Skolnik, in una recente intervista telefonica, ha fatto sapere di avere scoperto il diario di viaggio del 1933 con gli appunti relativi a Gibilterra. Note sulle impressioni suscitate da quel paesaggio che poi hanno ispirato il design Prudential.

Art & Design

Two - Ton Hercules Mosaic, Rock Steady in Newark

Hidret M. Dunn

The Rock of Gibratar, shown on a huge mosaic panel designed by Hildreth Meiére for a Prudential Insurance building, was recently rediscovered and moved to the Newark Museum.

PLAINFIELD, N.J. - A simbol of unshakable corporate strength, weighing two tons, has been cut apart for easy transport. The piece, a 1960s panel of a marble mosaic depicting Hercules sailing past the Rock of Gibratar, was removed two decades ago from a Prudential Insurance office tower in Newark. Recently rediscovered in storage, it has been donated to the Newark Museum, and it goes on view in a central coutyard there this month. In its new niche "no one's going to remove it, hopefully", said Anthony D. Schiavo, a mosaic artist who worked on the original Prudential installation with the designer, the Art Deco artist Hildret Meière. Her daughter, Louise Meière Dunn, and granddaughter, Hildreth Dunn, who run the International Hildreth Meière Association in Stamford, Conn., brought in Mr. Schiavo to help move the marble chips that he had assembled as a young artisan at a Long Island City, Queens, company called V. Foscato. A few weeks ago the slab, which measures about 13 by 11 feet, wa briefly laid out in a factory parking lot in this northern News Jersey town. Under Mr. Schiavo's watchful eye, a team sliced it in two so it would fit througt the museum doors. Stephen Miotto, a mosaic artist based in Carmel, N.Y.,and his assistant Miro Matusek sawed and drilled along a line marked in red crayon. The panel vibrated, and stone dust filled the air. But only a few chips broke free and needed to be repaired. Ms. Dunn, the granddaughter, lay on the damp asphalt to photograph the blades biting througt the mortar. "My grandmother was adventurous too", she said. Beginning in the 1910s, Meière traveled for hundreds of commissions at offices, homes and religious and government buildings scattered from Rhode Island to Southern California. The marble, in shades of green, purple, ivory and gray, was quarried in Ireland, Italy, Belgium and Turkey. Mr. Schiavo said that the palette would glow again after a bath in mild acid and water. He remembers Meière as regal but kind and diplomatic. While the Foscato crew was laying out marble stripes to realize her image of Gibratar cliffs and waves, he said, "She was smart enough to let the other artists decide". At the museum the panel hangs near a cafe and two abstrct 1930s murals that Arshile Gorky painted for a Newark Airport building. In a few months two other sections of the Prudential mosaics will be installed at the Center for Hellenic Studies in Washington. Catherine Coleman Brawer, a historian who is working on a Meière monograph with the autor Kathleen Muphy Skolnik, said in a recent phone interview that she has discovered Meière's 1933 travel diary notes about visiting Gibraltar. "It is somehow thrilling to pass througt that channel, "Meière wrote about the scenery that eventually inspired the Prudential design. Foscato mosaics around New York have been overhauled in recent years. Grids and swervers designed by Hans Hofmann for the lobby at 711 Third Avenue, between 44th and 45th Streets in Manhattan, have beebn restored. Gauzy color blocks from the 1950s, designed by Lucia Salemme, were salvaged at 220 Central Park South and are in storage awaiting a safe new home.

da <UN LAVORO>

di Catherine Coleman Brawer

..........
Dal diario di Meière appunti del suo viaggio attraverso lo stretto di Gibilterra:

["Il tempo ha continuato ad essere assolutamente perfetto, e il giorno dopo Lisbona siamo passati attraverso lo stretto di Gibilterra, venendo alla roccia stessa solo a mezzogiorno. Per questo motivo il pranzo era alle undici e più tardi che mi è stato permesso fino sul ponte molto superiore sopra la camera di grafico mentre la barca oscillato vicino al mucchio straordinario. Hanno atterrato lì tre volte prima, ma sono rimasto colpito più che mai con la sua mole e le tettoie di acqua curioso della Massoneria sul suo volto orientale. È in qualche modo emozionante di passare attraverso quel canale — di essere in grado di vedere l'Africa sulla vostra destra e Spagna, Europa, sulla vostra sinistra.]

Two ton Prudential Rock art preserved

A two marble mosaic depicting Hercules sailing past the Rock of Gibraltar has been donated to the Newark Museum, New Jersey and will go on view in a central courtyard later this month.
The mosaic is the work of Art Deco artist Hildreth Meière, commissioned by Prudential Life Insurance in Newark, it was one of her last pieces of work before her death in 1961. The New York artist most famous designs are the Art Deco plaques on the exterior wall of Radio City Music Hall.

Removed twenty years ago from the Prudential Insurance office it was rediscovered in storage, and according to the New York Times mosaic artist who worked on the original installation with the designer Anthony D. Schiavo has said that he hopes that in its new niche “no one’s going to remove it.”

[Un due in marmo mosaico raffigurante Ercole vela passato la Rocca di Gibilterra è stato donato a Newark Museum, New Jersey e andrà in mostra in un cortile centrale più tardi questo mese. Il mosaico è l'artista di Deco di opera d'arte Hildreth Meière, commissionato da Prudential Life Insurance in Newark, era uno dei suoi ultimi lavori prima della sua morte nel 1961. I disegni più famosi artista di New York sono le placche di Deco di arte sul muro esterno del Radio City Music Hall. Rimosso vent'anni fa dall'ufficio Prudential Insurance è stato riscoperto nel deposito, e secondo il New York Times mosaico artista che ha lavorato nell'installazione originale con il designer Anthony D.]

February 19, 2013

NEWARKMUSEUM
103rd Annual Meeting of the Newark Museum Association
Special Program with Dr. Mary-Kate O'Hare, Curator of American
Art, will discuss Hildreth Meière's remarkable career and artistry with
Louise Meière Dunn and Hildreth Meière Dunn. They will be joined by
mosaic artist Anthony D. Schiavo, who worked on the original
Prudential installation.

SUMMIT MOSAIC ARTIST RESTORES TWO-TON MURAL HE CREATED 53 YEARS AGO

Anthony Schiavo in front of a mosaic he built and recently restored at its news home, the Newark Museum. Designed by Hildreth Meiere, it was the central panel of a three-panel mosaic depicting Hercules' journej though the Strai of Gibraltar that was commissioned in 1959 for the lobby of Prudential Financial's headquarters in Newark . Anthony Schiavo

SUMMIT - At the age of 24 a young artist built a mosaic. Fifty three years later he has restored it for its new home, the Newark Museum.

On Monday, mosaic artist Anthony Schiavo told the story of the mural designed for Prudential Financial’s headquarters building in

Newark. Consisting of three panels, it depicts the voyage of Hercules through the Strait of Gibraltar. Only the central panel will be in the museum. It features the ship passing the Rock of Gibraltar, while two other panels have columns, representing the Pillars of Hercules. The other two panels have been donated to Harvard University Center for Hellenic Studies, in Washington, D.C.

The piece was designed by artist Hildreth Meière, who provided the drawing or “cartoon” for the mural. “I was the one who executed it physically with my hands," Schiavo said. "As the head designer, I was the one who selected the colors” and applied them. He said he did the work at Foscato Studio in Long Island City and it took about six months to complete. It was installed in Prudential’s lobby in 1960.

It is made of tesserai, tiny marble pieces. He said he used about “13 marbles” in the mosaic, in various shades. The way a mosaic works is “the architect decides where he wants a mosaic, an artist designs it and I will create it for that space.” The mosaic is built by hand, in sections, as determined by the mosaic artist. The panel in the museum is made up of about 30 sections, measures approximately 13 feet by 11 feet and weighs two tons.

The Prudential mural was removed in 1999 from the building and placed in storage. Meière’s daughter and granddaughter found where the three panels were stored and asked Schiavo to restore the panel after it had been cut in half and moved into the museum. He worked on the restoration during the fall.

The mosaic was donated to the museum by Prudential with the support of the International Hildreth Meière Association.

Schiavo, who lives in Summit with his wife, Ada, is 77. Before moving to Summit, he lived in Millburn and before that New York City.

In 2005, he designed and did the mosaic for “Doors to Democracy,” which can be seen in Summit at the Bassett Building 24 Beechwood Road.

In 1971 he used to designs of Gregorio Prestopino to create “The Nymphs” on the Princeton Professional Building, on Princeton-Hightstown Road.

Schiavo will attend the official unveiling of the mural at 11 a.m., Tuesday, Feb. 19, at the Newark Museum, 49 Washington St.

[Il murale prudenziale è stato rimosso nel 1999 dall'edificio e messi in deposito. Di Meière figlia e nipote trovato dove i tre pannelli sono stati conservati e chiesto Schiavo per ripristinare il pannello dopo esso era stati tagliati a metà e spostati nel Museo. Ha lavorato al restauro durante la caduta. Il mosaico è stato donato al Museo da Prudential con il sostegno dell'associazione internazionale Hildreth Meière. Schiavo, che vive in cima con la moglie, Ada, è 77. Prima di passare al vertice, ha vissuto a Millburn e prima che la città New York. Nel 2005, ha progettato e fatto il mosaico per "Porte di democrazia", che può essere visto in cima alla strada di Bassett edificio 24 Beechwood. Nel 1971 ha usato per disegni di Gregorio Prestopino per creare "Le ninfe" sulla costruzione di Professional di Princeton, Princeton-Hightstown strada. Schiavo parteciperà l'inaugurazione ufficiale del murale alle 11, martedì 19 febbraio, presso il Museo di Newark, 49 Washington St.]

Mosaic - Anthony Schiavo

Anthony David Schiavo, born in Monreale, Sicily in 1936, was intrigued from an early age by the Byzantine mosaics in his hometown cathedral, an 11th century structure. He studied art in Monreale at the Mosaic Institute of Santa Maria Nuova.

In 1954, Schiavo left Sicily for New York, where he continued his studies at Foscato Mosaic Studio. In 1957 he met such famous artists as Ben Shahn and Hans Hoffman, as well as others including Gregorio Prestopino, Hildreth Meiere, and Lumin Martin Winter. From these artists Schiavo learned a variety of skills as well as a growing appreciation for different types of art.
Of the artists above, Shahn and Prestopino had a significant connection with the Garden State. Schiavo would later collaborate with Prestopino on a mosaic mural near Princeton (shown below).

Doors to Democracy

Doors to Democracy, 2005, 5 by 8 , Bassett Building, Beechwood Road, Summit, NJ. Mosaic by Anthony Schiavo. Photographs courtesy the artist.

"Il significato del pannello (m.2x150) vuole esprimere il concetto che la Democrazia si può conquistare soltanto se si aprono tante porte, ovvero, che occorre tanta pazienza. La persona che mi ha commissionato questo contratto pensa di donare il disegno per realizzare un francobollo"(Tony Schiavo).

The Nymphs

The Nymphs, 1971, mosaic by Anthony Schiavo based on designs by Gregorio Prestopino, 5' x 16' (front), 5' x 8' (sides). Princeton Professional Building, Princeton-Hightstown Road, NJ.

In 1965 Schiavo opened his own studio in Queens, New York; he began designing his own work as well as taking on commissions for murals for churches, schools, hospitals, corporate and commercial buildings, and private homes. His biggest and most significant commission was a collaboration with Demetrios Dukas on the Byzantine style domed vault for the Greek Cathedral of Saint Sophia in Washington, D.C.
Schiavo also did restoration work in New Jersey, including the restoration of a large second century Roman mosaic floor, The Drinking Contest, owned by the Princeton Museum, as well as other panels from the same place and time.
Schiavo continues to work and live in Summit, New Jersey. His mosaic mural Doors to Democracy was created in Summit in 2005.
(KNO, Spring 2010)
Information courtesy the artist.

[Le ninfe, 1971, mosaico da Anthony Schiavo basato sui disegni di Gregorio Prestopino, 5' x 16' (anteriore), 5' x 8' (i lati). Edilizia professionale di Princeton, Princeton-Hightstown Road, NJ. Nel 1965 Schiavo apre il proprio studio nel Queens, New York; inizia a progettare il proprio lavoro oltre a prendere sulle commissioni per i murales per chiese, scuole, ospedali, edifici aziendali e commerciali e abitazioni private. La più grande ed importante Commissione fu una collaborazione con Demetrios Dukas sullo stile bizantino a cupola vault per il greco Cattedrale di Santa Sofia in Washington, D.C. Schiavo ha fatto anche lavori di restauro nel New Jersey, tra cui il restauro di un pavimento di mosaico romano di grande secondo secolo, il concorso a bere, di proprietà del Museo di Princeton, come pure altri pannelli dallo stesso luogo e tempo.

Schiavo continua a lavorare e vivere a Summit, New Jersey. Suo mosaico murale porte alla democrazia è stato creato nel vertice nel 2005. (KNO, primavera 2010) Cortesia di informazioni dell'artista.]

Anno 1971 - (CATTEDRALE GRECA ORTODOSSA SANTA SOFIA DI WASHINGTON)

Pantocratore con Serafini e Cherubini e i quattro Evangelisti

Tony Schiavo partecipa a questo progetto che comprende la realizzazione del Pantocratore, Serafini, Cherubini e gli Evangelisti racchiusi nei triangoli. Altri mosaici attorno sono stati fatti in Italia a Spilinbergo 25 anni fa'. Questo suo lavoro e' stato fatto 42 anni fa'. In pratica, per 15 anni gli unici mosaici erano solamente i suoi. Man mano che hanno raccolto i finanziamenti hanno continuato ad altri lavori. Quando lui era già coinvolto nella pubblicità.

Questo pannello, 4m x 3.50m rappresenta la " MENORAH ", il simbolo Ebraico realizzato per una Sinagoga nel Long Island, contea di New York .

Progetto THAT' S SICILY

Nei primi anni novanta Tony Schiavo e un gruppo di lavoro in collaborazione con la Regione, promuovono la Sicilia in America, in diverse città, nel campo dell'arte visiva, della musica, poesia, archeologia facendo conoscere e divulgando l'aspetto culturale e più interessante dell'Isola con Poster, locandine, manifestazioni varie, articoli su famosi giornali e quotidiani NewYorkesi come il New Times e il New York Magazine.

In questa circostanza, importanti sono state le varie esposizioni della ceramica di Elisa Messina, e quelle della pittura del famoso pittore Saverio Terruso.

Gli album dei ricordi

TRA I RICORDI...

Questa foto rappresenta un momento molto importante per l'Artista Tony Schiavo: quando ha insegnato a dipingere secondo lo stile del mosaico a bambini di 8 e 9 anni in una scuola vicino casa.

******************

TRITTICO DI MOSAICO, IL PRIMO, INSTALLATO AL MUSEO DI NEWARK

(vedi inizio post)

NOVEMBRE 2013

IMBALLAGGIO, TRASPORTO E INSTALLAZIONE N. 2 PANNELLI RESTAURATI 5.50 METRI X 3.30 CIASCUNO, CON CIRCA 46 MILA TESSERE IN MARMO ALL'HELLENIC STUDIES CENTER - HARVARD UNIVERSITY (WHASHINGTON)

"IL VIAGGIO DI ULISSE ALLE PORTE (COLONNE) DI ERCOLE"

L'Artista Tony Schiavo, sulla destra

12 GENNAIO 2014

Artist Anthony Schiavo and the Center for Hellenic Studies’ Meière Mosaics

di Claudia Filos

Anthony Schiavo has been designing and executing mosaics for almost eight decades.

On November 9th a small group of classicists, artists, and visiting scholars gathered outside Harvard’s Center for Hellenic Studies in Washington, D.C. to mark the arrival of two mosaic panels designed by renowned artist Hildreth Meière. The panels were part of a large-scale, triptych mural with the center panel depicting Hercules’ passage through the Straight of Gibraltar, and the two side panels featuring the Pillars of Hercules.

Large mosaics such as these are often a collaborative endeavor, and Anthony Schiavo, who stood among the group that day, had worked on these panels twice. As a young man, he directed the team that fabricated the mosaic. Over 50 years later an unexpected sequence of events brought the mosaics back into his life. Schiavo says the story of how these masterpieces were created, lost, and restored is “a mosaic of a mosaic”, with each individual taking their own place in the progression of the story. The movement or flow created by the arrangement of tesserae in a mosaic is called the andamento, from the Italian verb meaning ‘to move’. This key concept guides the artist during composition, and also when dividing or joining individual sections of the work. For Schaivo, the andamento dei fatti or ‘turn of fate’ leading to this moment began in his hometown, long ago before the first tile was set in place.

The Artist

Anthony David Schiavo was born in 1936 in Monreale, Sicily, a town famous for its 11th century cathedral featuring breathtaking Byzantine mosaics of glass and stone. Fascinated with the images, Anthony began studying and creating mosaics as a young child, and entered a formal program at the Mosaic Institute of Santa Maria Nuova at age 13. He graduated five years later in 1954, but jobs were scarce in Sicily at that time. Since his father was American, the family sought new opportunities across the Atlantic.

The Schiavo family initially settled with relatives in Brooklyn, NY. The mother took a job as a seamstress in the garment district, and Anthony found a job there as well. “I spent three days sewing on buttons, but I knew that wasn’t for me.” He briefly took a position as a draftsman at a marble company in Manhattan. While on a job assignment in Long Island, Anthony noticed a sign for a mosaic company. Founded in 1899 and based on Long Island, V. Foscato Inc. specialized in mosaics and terrazzo work and was a prominent and influential business in New York during the first half of the twentieth century. In fact, skilled artisans—especially Italian mosaic and terrazzo workers–were highly sought after during this period. So when he saw the sign, Anthony entered, found an employee who spoke Italian, and inquired about work. Vincent Foscato Sr., the son of the founder, offered him a position, but due to union regulations, Anthony would have to work as an apprentice for two years–even though he had graduated from a distinguished formal program in Italy. Anthony agreed.

Those first years presented many challenges. For one thing, he was still learning English and often had to communicate through a translator. There was animosity from the other craftsmen who were from Friuli, a region above Venice which was also famous for mosaics. Working conditions were difficult. In Italy, the mosaic fabricators generally sat at stools, but in the U.S. he was only given a stick with a piece of wood on top. One day Anthony turned to his translator and said, “Tell them I’d like to have a stool.” The boss sarcastically asked if he wanted a pillow on top, to which Anthony replied, “Yes”. He was willing to push limits, but he did good work. The next day, he had a stool. In fact, Anthony’s talent quickly earned him the most ornate and interesting jobs.

Meière and the Rock

Meière and Schiavo collaborate on the Prudential mosaics at the Foscato factory.

In 1959, just three years after completing his apprenticeship, Schiavo began working with Hildreth Meière, one of the great American artists of the twentieth century. Born in 1892, Meière was the most sought after and prolific Art Deco muralist during the 1930s and ‘40s, and a highly influential figure in American Liturgical Art. Although conservative in many respects, Meière was also willing to push limits; perhaps it was this balance that allowed her to become one of the few prominent and respected women artist of her time. In 1956 she was the first woman to be honored with the Fine Arts Medal of the American Institute of Architects. The citation for the award praised not only her artistic skill, but also her ability to collaborate with craftsmen and architects in a way that made her art seemingly indivisible from its surroundings. Unfortunately that would not be the fate for the work that Meière and Schiavo created in 1960.

Schiavo still remembers meeting Meière: “She was very elegant, eloquent, and a great artist.” She was also the first woman artist he met with in America.

A year later Meière was beginning discussions with Foscato about a mural she was designing for Prudential Insurance. The well-known company logo featured the Rock of Gibraltar and the tag line “The Prudential has the Strength of Gibraltar.” Meière had found herself moved by the strength of that landmark when she passed through the Straight decades before. So for the Prudential mural she depicted Hercules sailing through the Straight and past the Rock. In Greek mythology the Pillars indicated the limit of the known world, and “grasping the Pillars” was a metaphor for reaching the ultimate in human achievement. For mere humans, that spot would mark the limit of their journey, the point where they turn back. Thus Hercules’ journey came to represent a heroic and unending quest for knowledge with the Pillars as the gateway to the unknown.

I TRE PANNELLI

The three panels designed by Meière and executed by a team led by Schiavo. The two side panels now reside at the Center for Hellenic Studies in Washington, D.C.

Meière was a master of using such symbols and narratives to convey the cultural significance of a location or organization to the public. The Prudential mosaic draws on a traditional myth about Hercules, but the hero seems remarkably small and mortal surrounded by Meière’s huge, steadfast rock and the two formidable pillars rising up toward the sky. The effect conveys the rock-steady durability and strength of the insurance company in opposition to the heroic but inevitably mortal humans who pass through on their journey while buffeted by fate.

The message fit the company for which it was commissioned, but also reflected something about Meière’s position in life. After having executed over 100 commissioned works, Meière could claim great success, but by 1960 when she collaborated with Schiavo on the Prudential mosaic, her health was in serious decline. On May 1, 1961 Meière died of leukemia—the end result of a difficult cycle of illness and treatments that had begun while traveling around the world in 1952. The Pillars of Hercules would be her final completed work.

The Mosaic

In 1960 there was still work to be done. When Meière first came to the studio to discuss the mural Schiavo assured her he only needed a small 20”x30” painting as guidance. That would have saved Meière time and effort, but she enjoyed working on a large scale work and chose to create a full-size gouache painting called a “cartoon”. Schiavo’s first task was to select the proper stones that would achieve the colors the artist wanted. Then he could begin the careful work of translating the cartoon into a mosaic.

Many mosaics are created using the “direct method” in which each tile is fixed directly in place, right side up—that is, the artisan installs the mosaic as it is fabricated. The Prudential mosaic was going to be fabricated at one location and installed at another, requiring an “indirect” or “reverse method”. When using this technique, the tiles are fixed to a temporary “backing” with the front side down. To begin the process Anthony’s team created a full-scale sketch of the design reversed from left to right. The sketch was cut into sections of about two square feet following the shape and flow of the design. Working one section at a time, the craftsmen fixed the front of the tesserae to the paper sketch with a temporary adhesive. With this technique the paper sketch becomes a temporary “backing” for the front of the work, while the back is left exposed for installation.

The flow of a design may require artists to shape thousands of individual tiles by hand. Here, Schiavo demonstrates the use of the tools of his trade.

For each panel in the Prudential mosaic, Anthony and his team meticulously placed over 46,000 individual tiles cut from at least twelve types of marble. Meière was pleased with their work and requested just one revision. She felt the colors in the sunburst over the mountain were too bright. So Schiavo removed the section and then replaced the sunburst with more subdued hues. After four and a half months of work, all three panels were finally complete. Meière and Schiavo congratulated each other, and the panels were carefully sent off for installation in the lobby of Prudential Plaza.

Prompted by Meière, Anthony joined the National Society of Mural Painters and he began designing his own mosaics. After starting his own business in 1965, he became involved with many notable projects, including the installation of the Byzantine style mosaics on the vault of the Santa Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Washington, D.C. (just minutes away from the Center), and the restoration of ancient Roman mosaics held for Princeton and Harvard Universities.

The Appearance and Return of a Masterpiece

Fifty-three years after his original work on the mosaic was completed, Anthony watched as the crate containing one of those panels was carefully maneuvered into place and then opened, revealing a Pillar rising up confidently against a landscape of stone. Thick, heavy, and lit from behind by the sun pictured in the center panel, the pillar now appears to hold up a section of the inner courtyard roof.

Hildreth “Hilly” Meière Dunn, granddaughter and namesake of the late artist, celebrated along side Anthony. As the Vice President of the International Hildreth Meière Association, Hilly is a guardian of her grandmother’s legacy, so she was particularly excited to see these panels achieve a safe homecoming at the Center.

After being installed at the Prudential Headquarters in Newark in 1960, the mural remained in place until 1999 when the panels were removed during renovation and placed in storage. Then, somehow, awareness of the panels was lost. They lingered in obscurity for a decade, escaping the care and attention of those around them. Between 1960 and 2000, Meière seemed to suffer a similar fate. Although her work was still in public view at prominent and cherished landmarks around the country–locations such as the Washington National Cathedral and Radio City Music Hall in New York City–the public seemed to lose their sense of Meière’s significance. But in 2009 both Meière and her final work would return to public awareness.

Among those who brought about this return is Catherine Coleman Brawer, an author and scholar who first learned about Meière because her apartment was once Meière’s studio. Brawer became intrigued with Meière and over time has become an expert in her work. In 2009 she organized and curated the first major retrospective of Meière’s murals at St. Bonaventure University’s Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts. She also published a book based on the exhibit titled Walls Speak: the Narrative Art of Hildreth Meière.

Schiavo works from an image as he restores the right panel, which received the most damage while in storage.

By coincidence the archivist at Prudential Insurance happened to see the exhibit catalogue and realized that they still had the missing panels. The company contacted Hilly to let her know the good news. Unfortunately, there was also some bad news. The panels had been damaged during removal and storage, one quite extensively. The mural would need expensive, expert restoration before it could be placed back on view for the public.

Right around this time Anthony also came across Brawer’s book, and opened it to find a picture of himself with Meière. He then got in contact with Catherine and Joseph LoSchiavo, Associate Vice-President, St. Bonaventure University and Executive Director at the Quick Center. They, in turn, put him in touch with Hilly to talk about the possibility of restoring the mural. They all agreed—they needed to save the mural somehow. This was an amazing opportunity to have the original artist undertake the restoration, but how would they fund the project, and where would the panels find a home?

Hildreth "Hilly" Meière Dunn, Anthony Schiavo, and Stephen Miotto in front of the restored center panel now on view at the Newark Museum in New Jersey.

When Prudential agreed to help restore the center panel featuring Hercules and the Rock of Gibraltar, Anthony knew he needed help. “At 77 I can’t jump like a monkey anymore!” So he arranged to collaborate on the restoration with a talented and experienced mosaic artist named Stephen Miotto. Anthony had followed Miotto’s work for 34 years—since Miotto was an apprentice at 16. Together they were able to restore the panel to its original condition. Prudential then donated the work to the Newark Museum, but the two side panels needed a home.

In 2011 Thomas Luebke, Secretary of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, spoke with Catherine Brawer following a lecture she gave about Meière. She told Luebke about the two panels and her hope of seeing them installed in a place where the meaning of the panels might have great value. Luebke immediately thought of the Center. Founded in 1965 with the mission of establishing “an educational center in the field of Hellenic Studies designed to rediscover the humanism of the Hellenic Greeks”, the CHS welcomes scholars from around the globe who come to work at one of the world’s premier research libraries. When Director Gregory Nagy and Administrative Director Zoie Lafis were contacted about the mosaics, they were excited about the possibility of having the Center acquire these important works. Once funding was secured to restore both panels, Schiavo and Miotto began repairing the damage. These works would soon have a fitting and permanent home.

Homecoming

For the ancient Greeks, a homecoming, or nostos, could be associated with an awakening of consciousness and even a “return to light and life”. Nagy sees echoes of these themes in the imagery of the mosaics and in their new location near the entrance to the research library. Nagy believes the symbolism of the Pillars and their return from obscurity to public view perfectly express the mission of the Center and the unending quest for knowledge.

Schiavo, Nagy, Brawer, Hilly, and many others who contributed to this mosaic of homecoming will return to the Center in the spring for a formal celebration. Until then, Anthony Schiavo will continue this work. He regrets that mosaics are often not treated as valuable works of art, but encouraged by this experience, he hopes to raise public awareness so that more masterpieces can be found and restored.