source: Twitter feed of Heresy Labs
Christopher Columbus at Coit Tower [first part]
Heresy Labs, which describes itself as an "autonomous media project exploring anti-authoritarian politics and monitoring fascist presence within cultural space" tweeted the following on June 18, 2020:
The Christopher Columbus statue at Coit Tower in San Francisco has been removed. It was sculpted by fascist Vittorio di Colbertaldo who was Mussolini's handpicked bodyguard.
The Christopher Columbus statue was controversial when it was erected in 1957, however, this controversy had nothing to with the sculptor's affiliation with the Italian Fascist Party.
Vittorio di Colbertaldo was undoubtedly an active participant in Italy's fascist movement in the 1930s and 1940s. But during the Cold War that followed former fascists probably came to be seen as strong anti-communist allies. In any case, Colbertaldo's past political affiliation was no impediment to his post-war art career.
The Italian consul general Pierluigi Alvera had recommended Vittorio di Colbertaldo to the Art Commission for the project as "one of the world authorities on Columbus." But in their final decision the art commissioners also considered a proposal from a San Francisco artist Ugo A. Graziotti.
The controversy about the Christopher Columbus statue played out in the Letters to the Editor pages of San Francisco's daily papers. According to a January 29, 1957 letter to the Chronicle, Graziotti claimed that he had suggested the idea of commissioning a Columbus statue for San Francisco to Alvera in January of 1956. According to him, Alvara followed up this idea by contacting and commissioning Colbertado. In October 1956 he presented a sketch of this artist's sculpture design to the Art Commission.
Graziotti said that Alvara told him:
After the Art Commission vote, a Dick Nolan column in the Chronicle reported that the Art Commission's selection of the Colbertaldo had been generated strong community opposition:
Ugo Graziotti (1912-2000) was a native of Brescia, Italy. While working at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma he was invited in 1949 to teach in the United States in 1949 where he lived until 1970 when returned home to Italy. He lived in the Bay Area from 1954 to 1967 where he taught at the California College of Arts and Crafts, Art League of San Francisco and the University of San Francisco. He also operated the Graziotti Studio of Fine Arts that was located adjacent to today's Main Library at 1254 Market Street. His art was exhibited at the DeYoung Museum and the California Academy of Sciences.
In the run up to the Art Commission vote in January 1957, Graziotti presented his vision of Columbus to the Examiner. He told them that he wanted to create a statue:
Three letters to the editor supporting Graziotti's design were printed in the San Francisco Chronicle of January 24, 1956. The writers advocated supporting a locally known artist like Graziotti. They criticized the conservatism of the Colbertaldo design. One correspondent advocating for Graziotti's design wrote that:
Nevertheless, Graziotti cannot be separated from association with Italian fascism. He published examples of his work in the magazine Goliardia Fascista, a fascist affiliated student newspaper, between 1936 and 1939.
The next installment of this blog will take a closer look at Vincenzo di Colbertado -- his work and his connection to fascism.
The Newspaper Archive, San Francisco Chronicle Historical, and San Francisco Examiner Historical databases were all used in this research.
Vittorio di Colbertaldo was undoubtedly an active participant in Italy's fascist movement in the 1930s and 1940s. But during the Cold War that followed former fascists probably came to be seen as strong anti-communist allies. In any case, Colbertaldo's past political affiliation was no impediment to his post-war art career.
The Italian consul general Pierluigi Alvera had recommended Vittorio di Colbertaldo to the Art Commission for the project as "one of the world authorities on Columbus." But in their final decision the art commissioners also considered a proposal from a San Francisco artist Ugo A. Graziotti.
The controversy about the Christopher Columbus statue played out in the Letters to the Editor pages of San Francisco's daily papers. According to a January 29, 1957 letter to the Chronicle, Graziotti claimed that he had suggested the idea of commissioning a Columbus statue for San Francisco to Alvera in January of 1956. According to him, Alvara followed up this idea by contacting and commissioning Colbertado. In October 1956 he presented a sketch of this artist's sculpture design to the Art Commission.
Graziotti said that Alvara told him:
"If I wanted to, I could submit a design." And may I say that I was told this in a very unsympathetic way. In other words, Dr. Alvera asked me for a design just to toss me a bone for my idea.
Italian Consul general Pierluigi Alvera with a model of the Columbus statue (source: San Francisco Examiner January 4, 1957)
After the Art Commission vote, a Dick Nolan column in the Chronicle reported that the Art Commission's selection of the Colbertaldo had been generated strong community opposition:
The panel rejected a more daring design by Ugo Graziotti, a local master, for a more conventional piece of sculpture by an Italian who also happens to be a friend of the Italian consul, Pierluigi Alvera. The commission, from all reports, based its decision on financial reasons rather than esthetic ones. Alvera somehow conveyed the impression that his man's work was all bought and paid for and hence no problem to install, subito and toot de sweet.(A side note: one of the Art Commissioners favoring the Colbertaldo work was one of Graziotti's students.)
source: San Francisco Examiner January 24, 1956
Ugo Graziotti (1912-2000) was a native of Brescia, Italy. While working at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma he was invited in 1949 to teach in the United States in 1949 where he lived until 1970 when returned home to Italy. He lived in the Bay Area from 1954 to 1967 where he taught at the California College of Arts and Crafts, Art League of San Francisco and the University of San Francisco. He also operated the Graziotti Studio of Fine Arts that was located adjacent to today's Main Library at 1254 Market Street. His art was exhibited at the DeYoung Museum and the California Academy of Sciences.
In the run up to the Art Commission vote in January 1957, Graziotti presented his vision of Columbus to the Examiner. He told them that he wanted to create a statue:
To harmonize with the distinctive characteristics of San Francisco, and with the time in which we live. It is not intended to be just another neo-classic monument, similar to so many pieces reflecting 19th century taste to be seen here and there about the city. It is designed to provide interest to the spectator from every angle, whether seen from a distance or close at hand.The mosaic under the statue was meant to depict the known world at the the time of Columbus. The bronze base was intended to represent a ship. The bronze figure showed Columbus gazing forward with his hands clasping the vessel's pilot wheel.
Ugo A. Graziotti's Columbus Statue design (source: San Francisco Examiner December 13, 1956)
Three letters to the editor supporting Graziotti's design were printed in the San Francisco Chronicle of January 24, 1956. The writers advocated supporting a locally known artist like Graziotti. They criticized the conservatism of the Colbertaldo design. One correspondent advocating for Graziotti's design wrote that:
It reaches and exhibits the living spirit of every pioneer, every giant, every man who, with strength and faith, fights for discoveries and for a better world... it is a monument to the Relentless American.Part of the contemporary opposition to the Colbertaldo statue in Pioneer Park was probably due to the depiction of the explorer like a dauntless conqueror. The Graziotti work with its symbolism, abstract elements, and even a degree of whimsy might have rankled the today's viewer less than the Colbertaldo statue.
Nevertheless, Graziotti cannot be separated from association with Italian fascism. He published examples of his work in the magazine Goliardia Fascista, a fascist affiliated student newspaper, between 1936 and 1939.
The next installment of this blog will take a closer look at Vincenzo di Colbertado -- his work and his connection to fascism.
The Newspaper Archive, San Francisco Chronicle Historical, and San Francisco Examiner Historical databases were all used in this research.
Bibliography
Benoit, Monique, "'The City Ignores Its Local Artists'," San Francisco Chronicle January 24, 1956.
Bergman, Harry, "An Artist Leaves The City," San Francisco Chronicle September 3, 1967.
"Columbus Statue Designed for S.F.," San Francisco Examiner December 13, 1956.
Cross, Miriam Duncan, "Gold's But One Treasure In De Young's Current Exhibit," Oakland Tribune June 6, 1954.
"The Editor's Mailbox," San Francisco Examiner January 16, 1957.
"Graziotti Adriano Ugo," Dizionario pittori e scultori Bresciano [online]
Hulburd, David, "Talk Around Town," San Francisco Chronicle January 27, 1957.
"It Was A Tough Break For Columbus Statue," San Francisco Examiner January 4, 1957.
"Letters To The Editor," San Francisco Chronicle January 24, 1957.
"Letters To The Editor," San Francisco Chronicle January 29, 1957.
McQuigg, Clancy, "Bronze Image of Columbus," San Francisco Examiner October 13, 1957.
Nolan, Dick, "Lakeshore Citizens Take G.E.T. Fight To Mayor," San Francisco Chronicle January 13, 1957.
"Polyhedra Forms To Go On Display," Sausalito News April 18, 1962.
"Statue, Landscaping Tentatively Approved," San Francisco Chronicle October 26, 1956.
"Ugo Andriano Graziotti," Wikipedia: L'enciclopedia libera [online].
Watmough, David, "Books, Sunshine, Women and Sculptor Ugo Graziotti," San Francisco Examiner December 27, 1959.
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