Valenti Angelo
Valenti Angelo was a notable Italian-American artist and illustrator, born on June 23, 1897, in Massarosa, Tuscany, Italy. His family immigrated to the United States in 1905, initially settling in New York City's Little Italy before moving to California. Despite limited formal education, Angelo developed his artistic skills through self-study, inspired by a local wood carver who provided him with informal drawing lessons. He worked various labor jobs while nurturing his passion for art, eventually becoming a book illustrator in the 1920s.
Angelo's work is particularly distinguished for its woodcut illustrations, most famously for a 1930 edition of Walt Whitman's "Leaves of Grass." He transitioned to writing children's books, achieving acclaim with titles like "Nino" and "The Bells of Bleecker Street," which reflect his life experiences and cultural background. Throughout his prolific career, he illustrated over 250 books, many of which received recognition for their heartfelt representation of common people's lives and their dual celebration of Italian and American cultures. Angelo passed away on September 3, 1982, leaving a lasting legacy in the world of children's literature and illustration.
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Subject Terms
Valenti Angelo
Novelist
- Born: June 23, 1897
- Birthplace: Massarosa, Tuscany, Italy
- Died: September 3, 1982
- Place of death: New York
Biography
Valenti Angelo was born on June 23, 1897, in Massarosa, Tuscany, Italy, a small country village in the Little Alps of Northern Italy. A wood carver named Jacabo took an interest in the boy, gave him informal drawing lessons, and encouraged him to become an artist. Angelo’s parents, Augustino and Viclinda Checchi Angelo, brought their family to the United States in 1905, when the boy was eight years old. Like many Italian immigrants, they settled first in the Little Italy section of New York City, but later they moved to California. Angelo attended school in California for two years, but ended his formal education at about twelve to work in the fields.
At fifteen he found work in a paper mill. In 1916, he left his parents’ home to move to San Francisco. There he worked as a laborer in factories making rubber, steel, and glass, and eventually finding a job at a photoengraving firm. With his first week’s wages from the photoengraver, he bought oil paints and a smock. He visited public libraries and museums to teach himself more about art.
He married Maxine Grimm in 1923, and the couple had two children, Valdine, an author-illustrator, and Peter, a musician. In 1926, he began his career as a book illustrator, working for the fine book publisher Grabhorn Press in San Francisco. At Grabhorn, Valenti did the woodcut illustrations for a folio edition of Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass (1930), still considered one of the finest editions of the poems ever produced and perhaps Grabhorn’s most important work.
In 1933, Angelo returned to New York City to work as a freelance artist. At first, he illustrated new editions of classic works. One of the first new works he illustrated, Ruth Sawyer’s children’s book Roller Skates (1936), won the 1937 Newbery Medal. Publishers encouraged Angelo to try writing children’s books himself, but he worried that his lack of formal education would prevent him from doing it well.
In 1937, when he was forty years old, Angelo created Nino, the first book he both wrote and illustrated. Based largely on his own life, it tells the story of a young Italian boy in a small village. Contrary to what he feared, the book was popular with children and critics. Twelve years and seven books later, The Bells of Bleecker Street (1949) depicted Angelo’s memories of Little Italy in New York.
For thirty more years, Angelo continued to write and illustrate. He established the Press of Valenti Angelo, producing hand-printed limited editions of short works. He died on September 3, 1982, in New York. Angelo illustrated more than two hundred fifty books over a long career, and more than three dozen of them were honored by the American Institute of Graphic Arts. He is best remembered for the books he wrote and illustrated, which are recognized for their warmth, for their respect for the dignity of common people, and for their love of Italy and America.