SOM#055, Pietro Montana, St Francis of Assisi, 1957
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From the collection of John Birks
Numbers Issued: 658 Bronze
FROM THE ARTIST
It has been said that of all the saints throughout the ages, St. Francis of Assisi has been the one most widely known and most loved by people of all faiths and creeds. He came into the world at a time when true charity, love of God, and obedience to His will were at low ebb. St. Francis, by his way of life, brought many contemporaries back to God and set an example that still influences the souls of men.
After reading “St. Francis of Assisi” by the Danish writer, Johannes Jorgensen, I had a very strong impression of St. Francis and the Brothers who joined him in his life of poverty and prayer. On the obverse side I have represented the Saint at prayer, as described by Jorgensen, and several of the Brothers as they may have come upon him unexpectedly. “Here in the great loneliness and dead silence, where only a single bird twittered, and a mountain brook gurgled, Francis knelt long hours together on the hard stone under the naked cliff.” “… Francis cast himself on his face before God, the God who had made heaven and earth, the God who is all truth and all holiness, and before whose omnipotence nothing can stand without complete truth, complete holiness. Francis looked into the depths of his being … and from the depths of his need he groaned before God: ‘Lord be merciful to me a poor sinner.’”
In his Testament, written the year before his death, St. Francis tell us: “The Lord granted me to begin my conversion, so that as long as I lived in my sins, I felt it very bitter to see the lepers. But the Lord took me among them and I exercised mercy towards them.” As a rich young man, spoiled and worldly, Francis loathed and feared a leper. He gained his first and greatest victory over himself when he bent down to embrace the horribly deformed man from whom came the terrible odor of corruption that is leprosy. With Christ-like love he took care of many lepers during his life, and one sufferer saw the leprosy disappear and his flesh become entirely well under the gentle touch of Francis’ saintly hands.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Petro Montana was born in Alcamo, Italy, received his early academic education there but did not begin his study and training in drawing and modeling until after his family had become established in the United States. As a student at the Art School of Cooper Union in New York, he looked forward to becoming a painter. He earned his living doing manual labor during the day and studied at night. In the hope that he might find work in a sculptor’s studio while he perfected himself as a painter, he enrolled in the sculpture course. Soon after receiving a diploma from Cooper Union, he was asked to submit models for an over life-size figure for a bronze monument. The contract that was awarded him definitely established him as a sculptor. Color still attracts him strongly and he enjoys painting in oils and making portraits in pastel.
Works
The Doughboy, World War I Memorial, Brooklyn, N. Y. Replicas, North Arlington, N. J. and Alliance, Ohio.
Victory with Peace, Brooklyn, N. Y. (World War I Memorial)
The Dawn of Glory, Brooklyn, N. Y. (World War I Memorial)
Memorial tablet to Mark Twain and Washington Irving, New York, N. Y.
Catherine I. Carroll Memorial tablet, Brooklyn, N. Y.
World War I Memorial, East Providence, Rhode Island
Memorial, St. John’s Cemetery, Brooklyn, N. Y.
Monument to José Di Diego, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico
World War I Memorial, Mirabella-in-Bacheri, Italy
Cardinal McCloskey Memorial Plaque, Fordham University, New York, N. Y.
Monument to Pedro Perea, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico
Marconi Tablet, Fordham University
Ram’s Head Fountain, Fordham University
Marker Plaque, Fordham University
Bas-relief portrait, His Holiness Pope Pius XII, Fordham University
Bas-relief portrait, Francis Cardinal Spellman, Fordham University
Family Memorial, St. John’s Cemetery, Brooklyn, N. Y.
War Memorial, Church of St. Philip Neri, New York, N. Y.
Century Club Commemorative Plaque, Church of St. Francis Xavier, New York, N. Y.
Medallions for sacristy chairs, church of St. Jean Baptiste, New York, N. Y.
Stations of the Cross, Fordham University War Memorial Chapel, New York, N. Y.
St. Expidito, the Martyr, Church of St. Patrick, Fort Worth, Texas
St. Michael, Eymard Preparatory Seminary, Hyde Park, N. Y.
Blessed Mother Therese Couderc, Convent of Our Lady of the Cenacle, Lake Ronkonkoma, N. Y.
St. John the Baptist Church of St. Jean Baptiste, New York, N. Y.
Garden Sculpture, Norrvikens Trägårdar, Båstad, Sweden
Garden Sculpture, Klippan, Sweden
Father Duffy Memorial Plaque, New York, N. Y.
Medallions for sacristy chairs, Upper Church and Lower Church, St. Anthony Shrine, Boston, Mass.
Many portrait busts and bas-relief portraits
Present commission: Four figures for the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, D. C. (Maginnis and Walsh and Kennedy, architects)
REPRESENTED IN:
Brookgreen Gardens, North Carolina
American Numismatic Society, New York, N. Y.
Museo Risorgimento Italiano, Turin, Italy
PRIZES:
National Academy of Design: Elizabeth M. Watrous Gold Medal for Sculpture, 1931
Allied Artists of America: Honorable Mention, 1936; Lindsey Morris Memorial Prize, 1938; Gold Medal for Sculpture, 1942 and 1949; Popular Prize, 1949
American Artists Professional league: Honorable Mention, 1944; Prize for Painting, 1945; Purchase Prize for Sculpture, 1947; Second Prize for Sculpture, 1955
Hudson Valley Art Association: Prize for Sculpture, 1946, 1950; Gold Medal for Sculpture, 1952; Prize for the best oil painting in the Show, 1953
Ogunquit Art Center: Honorable Mention for Painting, 1950
“Art Comes to Hempstead” Exhibition: Prize for Sculpture, 1945
National Arts Club: First Prize for Sculpture, 1956; Honorable Mention for Sculpture, 1957
Pietro Montana became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1921. He is a Fellow of the National Sculpture Society, and a member of the Allied Artists of America, Audubon Artists, Hudson Valley Art Association, American Artists Professional League, and the Artists’ Fellowship.
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![SOM#055, Pietro Montana, St Francis of Assisi, 1957
[b]From the collection of John Birks[/b]
[i]Numbers Issued: 658 Bronze[/i]
[b]FROM THE ARTIST[/b]
It has been said that of all the saints throughout the ages, St. Francis of Assisi has been the one most widely known and most loved by people of all faiths and creeds. He came into the world at a time when true charity, love of God, and obedience to His will were at low ebb. St. Francis, by his way of life, brought many contemporaries back to God and set an example that still influences the souls of men.
After reading “St. Francis of Assisi” by the Danish writer, Johannes Jorgensen, I had a very strong impression of St. Francis and the Brothers who joined him in his life of poverty and prayer. On the obverse side I have represented the Saint at prayer, as described by Jorgensen, and several of the Brothers as they may have come upon him unexpectedly. “Here in the great loneliness and dead silence, where only a single bird twittered, and a mountain brook gurgled, Francis knelt long hours together on the hard stone under the naked cliff.” “… Francis cast himself on his face before God, the God who had made heaven and earth, the God who is all truth and all holiness, and before whose omnipotence nothing can stand without complete truth, complete holiness. Francis looked into the depths of his being … and from the depths of his need he groaned before God: ‘Lord be merciful to me a poor sinner.’”
In his Testament, written the year before his death, St. Francis tell us: “The Lord granted me to begin my conversion, so that as long as I lived in my sins, I felt it very bitter to see the lepers. But the Lord took me among them and I exercised mercy towards them.” As a rich young man, spoiled and worldly, Francis loathed and feared a leper. He gained his first and greatest victory over himself when he bent down to embrace the horribly deformed man from whom came the terrible odor of corruption that is leprosy. With Christ-like love he took care of many lepers during his life, and one sufferer saw the leprosy disappear and his flesh become entirely well under the gentle touch of Francis’ saintly hands.
[b]ABOUT THE ARTIST[/b]
Petro Montana was born in Alcamo, Italy, received his early academic education there but did not begin his study and training in drawing and modeling until after his family had become established in the United States. As a student at the Art School of Cooper Union in New York, he looked forward to becoming a painter. He earned his living doing manual labor during the day and studied at night. In the hope that he might find work in a sculptor’s studio while he perfected himself as a painter, he enrolled in the sculpture course. Soon after receiving a diploma from Cooper Union, he was asked to submit models for an over life-size figure for a bronze monument. The contract that was awarded him definitely established him as a sculptor. Color still attracts him strongly and he enjoys painting in oils and making portraits in pastel.
[b]Works[/b]
The Doughboy, World War I Memorial, Brooklyn, N. Y. Replicas, North Arlington, N. J. and Alliance, Ohio.
Victory with Peace, Brooklyn, N. Y. (World War I Memorial)
The Dawn of Glory, Brooklyn, N. Y. (World War I Memorial)
Memorial tablet to Mark Twain and Washington Irving, New York, N. Y.
Catherine I. Carroll Memorial tablet, Brooklyn, N. Y.
World War I Memorial, East Providence, Rhode Island
Memorial, St. John’s Cemetery, Brooklyn, N. Y.
Monument to José Di Diego, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico
World War I Memorial, Mirabella-in-Bacheri, Italy
Cardinal McCloskey Memorial Plaque, Fordham University, New York, N. Y.
Monument to Pedro Perea, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico
Marconi Tablet, Fordham University
Ram’s Head Fountain, Fordham University
Marker Plaque, Fordham University
Bas-relief portrait, His Holiness Pope Pius XII, Fordham University
Bas-relief portrait, Francis Cardinal Spellman, Fordham University
Family Memorial, St. John’s Cemetery, Brooklyn, N. Y.
War Memorial, Church of St. Philip Neri, New York, N. Y.
Century Club Commemorative Plaque, Church of St. Francis Xavier, New York, N. Y.
Medallions for sacristy chairs, church of St. Jean Baptiste, New York, N. Y.
Stations of the Cross, Fordham University War Memorial Chapel, New York, N. Y.
St. Expidito, the Martyr, Church of St. Patrick, Fort Worth, Texas
St. Michael, Eymard Preparatory Seminary, Hyde Park, N. Y.
Blessed Mother Therese Couderc, Convent of Our Lady of the Cenacle, Lake Ronkonkoma, N. Y.
St. John the Baptist Church of St. Jean Baptiste, New York, N. Y.
Garden Sculpture, Norrvikens Trägårdar, Båstad, Sweden
Garden Sculpture, Klippan, Sweden
Father Duffy Memorial Plaque, New York, N. Y.
Medallions for sacristy chairs, Upper Church and Lower Church, St. Anthony Shrine, Boston, Mass.
Many portrait busts and bas-relief portraits
Present commission: Four figures for the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, D. C. (Maginnis and Walsh and Kennedy, architects)
[b]REPRESENTED IN:[/b]
Brookgreen Gardens, North Carolina
American Numismatic Society, New York, N. Y.
Museo Risorgimento Italiano, Turin, Italy
[b]PRIZES:[/b]
National Academy of Design: Elizabeth M. Watrous Gold Medal for Sculpture, 1931
Allied Artists of America: Honorable Mention, 1936; Lindsey Morris Memorial Prize, 1938; Gold Medal for Sculpture, 1942 and 1949; Popular Prize, 1949
American Artists Professional league: Honorable Mention, 1944; Prize for Painting, 1945; Purchase Prize for Sculpture, 1947; Second Prize for Sculpture, 1955
Hudson Valley Art Association: Prize for Sculpture, 1946, 1950; Gold Medal for Sculpture, 1952; Prize for the best oil painting in the Show, 1953
Ogunquit Art Center: Honorable Mention for Painting, 1950
“Art Comes to Hempstead” Exhibition: Prize for Sculpture, 1945
National Arts Club: First Prize for Sculpture, 1956; Honorable Mention for Sculpture, 1957
Pietro Montana became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1921. He is a Fellow of the National Sculpture Society, and a member of the Allied Artists of America, Audubon Artists, Hudson Valley Art Association, American Artists Professional League, and the Artists’ Fellowship.
Keywords: sold](albums/userpics/10001/SOM%23055-combo.jpg "SOM#055, Pietro Montana, St Francis of Assisi, 1957
[b]From the collection of John Birks[/b]
[i]Numbers Issued: 658 Bronze[/i]
[b]FROM THE ARTIST[/b]
It has been said that of all the saints throughout the ages, St. Francis of Assisi has been the one most widely known and most loved by people of all faiths and creeds. He came into the world at a time when true charity, love of God, and obedience to His will were at low ebb. St. Francis, by his way of life, brought many contemporaries back to God and set an example that still influences the souls of men.
After reading “St. Francis of Assisi” by the Danish writer, Johannes Jorgensen, I had a very strong impression of St. Francis and the Brothers who joined him in his life of poverty and prayer. On the obverse side I have represented the Saint at prayer, as described by Jorgensen, and several of the Brothers as they may have come upon him unexpectedly. “Here in the great loneliness and dead silence, where only a single bird twittered, and a mountain brook gurgled, Francis knelt long hours together on the hard stone under the naked cliff.” “… Francis cast himself on his face before God, the God who had made heaven and earth, the God who is all truth and all holiness, and before whose omnipotence nothing can stand without complete truth, complete holiness. Francis looked into the depths of his being … and from the depths of his need he groaned before God: ‘Lord be merciful to me a poor sinner.’”
In his Testament, written the year before his death, St. Francis tell us: “The Lord granted me to begin my conversion, so that as long as I lived in my sins, I felt it very bitter to see the lepers. But the Lord took me among them and I exercised mercy towards them.” As a rich young man, spoiled and worldly, Francis loathed and feared a leper. He gained his first and greatest victory over himself when he bent down to embrace the horribly deformed man from whom came the terrible odor of corruption that is leprosy. With Christ-like love he took care of many lepers during his life, and one sufferer saw the leprosy disappear and his flesh become entirely well under the gentle touch of Francis’ saintly hands.
[b]ABOUT THE ARTIST[/b]
Petro Montana was born in Alcamo, Italy, received his early academic education there but did not begin his study and training in drawing and modeling until after his family had become established in the United States. As a student at the Art School of Cooper Union in New York, he looked forward to becoming a painter. He earned his living doing manual labor during the day and studied at night. In the hope that he might find work in a sculptor’s studio while he perfected himself as a painter, he enrolled in the sculpture course. Soon after receiving a diploma from Cooper Union, he was asked to submit models for an over life-size figure for a bronze monument. The contract that was awarded him definitely established him as a sculptor. Color still attracts him strongly and he enjoys painting in oils and making portraits in pastel.
[b]Works[/b]
The Doughboy, World War I Memorial, Brooklyn, N. Y. Replicas, North Arlington, N. J. and Alliance, Ohio.
Victory with Peace, Brooklyn, N. Y. (World War I Memorial)
The Dawn of Glory, Brooklyn, N. Y. (World War I Memorial)
Memorial tablet to Mark Twain and Washington Irving, New York, N. Y.
Catherine I. Carroll Memorial tablet, Brooklyn, N. Y.
World War I Memorial, East Providence, Rhode Island
Memorial, St. John’s Cemetery, Brooklyn, N. Y.
Monument to José Di Diego, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico
World War I Memorial, Mirabella-in-Bacheri, Italy
Cardinal McCloskey Memorial Plaque, Fordham University, New York, N. Y.
Monument to Pedro Perea, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico
Marconi Tablet, Fordham University
Ram’s Head Fountain, Fordham University
Marker Plaque, Fordham University
Bas-relief portrait, His Holiness Pope Pius XII, Fordham University
Bas-relief portrait, Francis Cardinal Spellman, Fordham University
Family Memorial, St. John’s Cemetery, Brooklyn, N. Y.
War Memorial, Church of St. Philip Neri, New York, N. Y.
Century Club Commemorative Plaque, Church of St. Francis Xavier, New York, N. Y.
Medallions for sacristy chairs, church of St. Jean Baptiste, New York, N. Y.
Stations of the Cross, Fordham University War Memorial Chapel, New York, N. Y.
St. Expidito, the Martyr, Church of St. Patrick, Fort Worth, Texas
St. Michael, Eymard Preparatory Seminary, Hyde Park, N. Y.
Blessed Mother Therese Couderc, Convent of Our Lady of the Cenacle, Lake Ronkonkoma, N. Y.
St. John the Baptist Church of St. Jean Baptiste, New York, N. Y.
Garden Sculpture, Norrvikens Trägårdar, Båstad, Sweden
Garden Sculpture, Klippan, Sweden
Father Duffy Memorial Plaque, New York, N. Y.
Medallions for sacristy chairs, Upper Church and Lower Church, St. Anthony Shrine, Boston, Mass.
Many portrait busts and bas-relief portraits
Present commission: Four figures for the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, D. C. (Maginnis and Walsh and Kennedy, architects)
[b]REPRESENTED IN:[/b]
Brookgreen Gardens, North Carolina
American Numismatic Society, New York, N. Y.
Museo Risorgimento Italiano, Turin, Italy
[b]PRIZES:[/b]
National Academy of Design: Elizabeth M. Watrous Gold Medal for Sculpture, 1931
Allied Artists of America: Honorable Mention, 1936; Lindsey Morris Memorial Prize, 1938; Gold Medal for Sculpture, 1942 and 1949; Popular Prize, 1949
American Artists Professional league: Honorable Mention, 1944; Prize for Painting, 1945; Purchase Prize for Sculpture, 1947; Second Prize for Sculpture, 1955
Hudson Valley Art Association: Prize for Sculpture, 1946, 1950; Gold Medal for Sculpture, 1952; Prize for the best oil painting in the Show, 1953
Ogunquit Art Center: Honorable Mention for Painting, 1950
“Art Comes to Hempstead” Exhibition: Prize for Sculpture, 1945
National Arts Club: First Prize for Sculpture, 1956; Honorable Mention for Sculpture, 1957
Pietro Montana became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1921. He is a Fellow of the National Sculpture Society, and a member of the Allied Artists of America, Audubon Artists, Hudson Valley Art Association, American Artists Professional League, and the Artists’ Fellowship.
Keywords: sold")
