Antonio Barone

Antonio Barone (1889-1971) was an Italian-born American painter and printmaker whose long and distinguished career bridged the artistic traditions of his native Italy and his adopted United States. Born in Palermo, Sicily, he emigrated to America as a young man and moved to Le Roy, New York, where he began studying art with Ida Taylor, a pupil of William Morris Hunt. In 1906 he became a member and student of the Art Students League in New York, where he studied under Frank Vincent DuMond and William Merritt Chase. His social circle brought him into contact with many talented artists of the period, including Francis Luis Mora, Eugene Speicher, and Georgia O'Keeffe.

The artist who had the most profound influence on Barone's work was James McNeill Whistler. Barone instantly connected with the subtle tonality and thin painted surfaces that defined Whistler's mature manner, and these qualities are visible throughout his own painting, including intimate portraits such as Young Boy Sleeping. Around 1908 he began taking commissions as a portraitist, and he traveled through France, England, and Holland, where he continued to receive portrait commissions from clients on both sides of the Atlantic. His enthusiasm for the portrait as a serious painterly subject is unmistakable in these pictures, where the careful modeling of the sitter is balanced by the refined tonal atmosphere of the surrounding space.

During his later years, Barone turned his interests to large mural paintings. He received commissions from organizations including the New York County Court House, the Bowery Savings Bank, and the New York Athletic Club, and completed decorative designs for the private residence of William Mellon in Pittsburgh. Barone exhibited widely throughout his active career and received numerous honors along the way. He died in 1971 in New York, remembered as an accomplished tonalist and portraitist whose work carried the sensibility of Whistler into the American twentieth century.Antonio Barone was born in Valledolmo, Sicily on May 20, 1889. He moved to Le Roy, New York where he began studying art with Ida Taylor, the pupil of William Morris Hunt. He became a member and student of the Art Students League in 1906, where he studied under Frank Vincent DuMond and William Merritt Chase. His social circle exposed him to many talented artists of the time, including Frank Lois Mora, Eugene Speicher, and Georgia O'Keefe. The artist that had the most profound influence on Barone's work was James A. McNeill Whistler. Barone instantly connected with the subtle tonality and thin surfaces used by Whistler; such influences are seen in Young Boy Sleeping. Around 1908 Barone began taking commissions as a portraitist. He traveled through France, England and Holland where he continued to receive commissions. The enthusiasm for the portrait as