Antonio Pietro Martino

January in the City

Early 20th Century

Born in Philadelphia, Antonio P. Martino was the son of italian immigrants and one of eight siblings, all of whom were artists. His father was a mason and stonecutter, and his mother a buttonhole maker. At the age of 13, he attended classes with his brother Giovanni at the Graphic Sketch Club (now Samuel S. Fleisher Art Memorial) in South Philadelphia. Martino then studied with Albert Jean Adolphe at the Philadelphia Museum School of Industrial Art(now the University of the Arts) and took weekend courses at both the Spring Garden Institute and the La France Institute. By the age of 23, Martino had exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia. In 1941, he and his brothers founded Martino Commercial Art Studios, which provided a variety of fine art and promotional design services. All of the Martino brothers participated in the business, which had a staff of twenty artists. While living in the city, Martino and his brothers spent weekend mornings painting in Bucks County, creating landscapes of New Hope and the Delaware River that showed a strong impressionist influence. By 1971, he moved to California to paint seascapes and landscapes, residing there until his death in 1988. The winner of many national awards, Martino was elected as an Associate of the National Academy of Design in 1938 and a National Academician in 1942, one of the highest distinctions awarded to American artists at the time.