Robert De Niro, Sr.
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| Robert De Niro, Sr. | |
| Birth name | Robert Mario De Niro, Sr. |
| Born | January 17, 1922 Syracuse, New York, United States |
| Died | May 3, 1993 (aged 71) New York City, New York, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Movement | painter, abstract expressionist |
Robert Mario De Niro, Sr. (January 17, 1922 – May 3, 1993) was an abstract expressionist painter. He is perhaps best known as the father of actor Robert De Niro.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Biography
Robert De Niro, Sr., was born in Syracuse, New York, to an Italian American father, Henry Martin De Niro, who was originally of Neapolitan descent, and an Irish mother, Helen O'Reilly. De Niro studied with Hans Hofmann at his Provincetown, Massachusetts summer school where he met fellow student Virginia Admiral, whom he married in 1942. The couple moved into a large, airy loft in New York's Greenwich Village, where they were able to paint. The couple surrounded themselves with an illustrious circle of friends, including writers Anaïs Nin and Henry Miller, playwright Tennessee Williams, and actress and famous Berlin dancer Valeska Gert. Admiral and De Niro separated shortly after their son, Robert De Niro, Jr., was born in August 1943.
[edit] College
De Niro attended Black Mountain College in the 1950s. Being a self proclaimed perfectionist, De Niro painted and repainted his canvases again and again. He would do hundreds of studies before he decided to paint the subject. De Niro was prone to bouts of depression and this encumbered him throughout his life.
De Niro was a visiting artist at Michigan State University's Department of Art in the early 1960s. [2]
He was also bisexual and had Robert Duncan as a lover.[3][4]
In 2007, son Robert DeNiro threatened legal action against the Benucci S.r.l. art gallery in Rome, Italy, after it allegedly took a number of his father's paintings from a New York arthouse to settle a $5 million debt. [5]
[edit] Death
Robert De Niro, Sr., died at age 71 on the morning of Monday, May 3, 1993, in New York City.[1] He is interred at Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, New York. The film A Bronx Tale was dedicated to him after his death; it was the directorial debut of his son, Robert De Niro, Jr.[6]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b Smith, Roberta. "Robert De Niro, 71, A New York Painter And Actor's Father", New York Times, 1993-05-07.
- ^ Word, Michelle. "Art and Art History Celebrates 75 Years", MSU Alumni Magazine, Fall 2006.
- ^ Jones, Baird, Celebrity Art, <http://www.artnet.com/Magazine/news/jones/jones4-12-04.asp>. Retrieved on 2007-09-22
- ^ Baxter, John (2003), De Niro: A Biography, HarperCollins, ISBN 0006532306
- ^ "You Takin' My Paintings From Me?", TMZ.com, 2007-11-19.
- ^ Baxter, John. "In the name of the father", Sydney Morning Herald, 2002-09-26.
- Marika Herskovic, New York School Abstract Expressionists Artists Choice by Artists, (New York School Press, 2000.) ISBN 0-9677994-0-6
