Leo J. Monti (1906-1985) American, Gouache on Masonite. Signed lower right. Titled "Solitude". Prior information on label on back. 

Depicts a small house in the background with a few small boats near the river. Framed.

Frame: 13 1/4 x 24 1/4 in.

Sight: 7 1/2 x 18 in.

#3475 

Leo J. Monti was born in 1906 in New York City. His parents were Italian immigrants, and he taught himself to speak English while attending Catholic services at their local church. The family moved frequently wherever there was work, and by the time Monti graduated from Westerly High School in Rhode Island he had attended nearly a dozen schools. Even before the Great Depression life was difficult for most immigrants and first-generation Americans, and in 1926 he was arrested along with several others for attempting to smuggle a large quantity of alcohol through Croton-on-Hudson from Canada. In lieu of prison, he was given the opportunity to work as a craftsman for a local company run by a retired Army Colonel who encouraged him to enlist. He joined in 1929, and was part of the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1933, sent across the United States on various construction projects. He became known for his innate ability to draw and sketch, quickly and roughly capturing an area where work needed to be done. When World War II broke out he joined the USAAF, and achieved the rank of Master Sergeant by the end of the War. In 1945 he married Margaret Carr, a WAC he had met overseas, and their combined military benefits once they were both honorably discharged allowed them to divide their time between homes in Clifton, New Jersey and Saint Petersburg, Florida. In retirement Leo explored painting and drawing, completely self-taught, and he won several local awards in both cities. He passed away in 1985, shortly followed by Margaret, and they were both buried with honors in St. Petersburg Memorial Park Cemetery. His works are very rare, and sought after by collectors of military memorabilia as much as art aficionados.

Staining on mat.