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New York City, NY Victor Joseph "Joe" Gatto 1893-1965 Paintings

Information: Born in New York City, he lived there most of his life, retiring to Miami, Florida shortly before his death. He was 45 before he began to paint, having boxed professionally and served in the US Navy . In 1938, he chanced upon an art show in Greenwich Village. Inspired, he began to paint and shortly after attracted critical attention including work exhibited at the Whitney Museum. His oil paintings are remarkably complex. He used brushes with only a few hairs for great detail and built them up layer after layer. He seemed tireless, sometimes working 36 hours straignt on his scenes of vibrant New York City. from Smithsonian American Art Museum: Victor Joseph Gatto was not particularly religious, but he painted several fantasy images based on characters from the Bible. He used tiny brushes to build up thick layers of color, giving his subjects a glowing, otherworldly quality. He painted Adam and Eve at the moment of temptation, when Eve hands the apple to Adam; the flat, empty landscape beyond suggests the figures are standing on the edge of Eden. In Suffering Christ, Gatto depicted Jesus just before the crucifixion. The figure’s vivid red hair and pale skin emphasize the blood flowing from his forehead and chest, while his calm expression disguises his pain Ask Art

	Reference / Links:
	Dilettante Press: "Victor Joseph Gatto" Epstein/Powell: "Victor Joseph Gatto" Slotin Folk Art Ask Art Smithsonian American Art Museum
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Bibliography: "Museum of American Folk Art Encyclopedia of Twentieth Century American Folk Art and Artists" by Chuck and Jan Rosenak, Abbeville Press, New York, 1990. "20th Century American Folk, Self Taught, and Outsider Art" by Betty-Carol Sellen, Cynthia J. Johnson, Neal-Schuman Publishers, New York, 1993. "Contemporary American Folk Art - A Collector's Guide" Chuck and Jan Rosenak, Abbeville Press, 1996. "Flying Free: Twentieth-Century Self-Taught Art from the Collection of Ellin and Baron Gordon" by Ellin Gordon, Barbara L. Luck and Tom Patterson, exhibit catalog for The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center, 1997. "Self Taught, Outsider, and Folk Art—A guide to American Artists, Locations and Resources" by Betty-Carol Sellen with Cynthia J. Johnson, 2000. "American Self-Taught Art: An Illustrated Analysis of 20th Century Artists and Trends with 1,319 Capsule Biographies" by Florence Laffal and Julius Laffal, 2003. Slotin Folk Art Auction Catalog, Masterpiece Sale, November 4, 2006

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