Mario de Ferrante

1898-1992)

He was born in Naples, Italy on November 29, 1898. One of the original followers of the Italian Manifesto of Futurism, de Ferrante studied at the Istituto delle Belle Arti in Naples and served a two year apprenticeship with Antonio Mancini.

After immigrating to the United States in 1922 he worked in New York City doing portraits and murals until 1935. At that time he moved to Glendale California where he became one of the first members of the Western Serigraphy Institute of Los Angeles. After settling in Glendale, he established a studio there and also taught at the Barnsdale College from 1970-1984.

His early paintings are more representational while his latter works tend to be very abstract in nature. As a Futurist, he believed that artists should tear down all past traditions in painting and devote themselves to subjects of science and industry.

His works were exhibited at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Biennale de Milano (where he won a 1st Prize), and the Martinez Arts Gallery. His works are in the collections of Yale, Princeton, and Brigham Young Universities, Library of Congress, Philadelphia Library, and the Cleveland Museum. De Ferrante died in Martinez, California on December 7, 1992. He is listed in Hughes: Artists In California, AskArt and the Artist's Bluebook by Dunbier. Source: Edan Milton Hughes.