Sterling Silver TOREADOR & BULL UMBERTO ROMANO 1969 Franklin Mint withCOA #111/225

  

Unique & Amazing Work of Art! 1969 Limited Edition, #111/225 by Franklin Mint with COA Signed By ARTIST!!!

Approx: 8.25"x 6" Plaque, Frame is 14" x 10", Total Weight in Frame: 4 lbs, 15 ounces. See comments Below on Estimated Silver Weight from other sales. The plaque in that photo is not included in this sale of course, but was included to add provenance to our item for your reference. This truly is a great vintage piece of art. Umberto Romano was an extremely gifted artist & teacher with a bold style & worked in various genres throughout his career.

He was gifted in painting, sketching, oils, mixed medias, sculpting & much more. His style ranged from dark abstract expressionism, light colorful oil landscapes, some realism works & on & on.

And, in every style, he had a certain flair. You can find a good bit more information on the artist and we detailed some more below. This plaque was from a "Toreador and Bull" abstract expressionistic sketch by Romano & produced in a limited edition of 225, this one is #111 from the edition. Only a few have ever shown up on the open market.

We have not done anything to the item other than dust off the frame. It was tempting to polish the silver up to enhance its beauty, but since we are not experts, we did not want to potentially harm the item. Other than some mild tarnish & a few small imperfections this looks pretty solid overall. Please review all the pictures & video for more. We tried to capture the item as accurately as possible & took lots of pictures in varying light sources to help. The original artist signed COA is included & contains original owner's name, we only redacted the name for privacy reasons. We obtained from the original owner. Born in Italy, his family moved to the US around 1915 according to on-line sources. He grew up in Springfield, Mass, but attended the National Academy of Design in New York and then at the American Academy in Rome. As a young artist, he began exhibiting his works by 1928 (age 22) & never stopped producing art throughout his life. Known primarily for his paintings, he was exceptionally versatile as well, producing pencil sketches as this listing of "Toreador and Bull" was taken from. He also worked as a sculptor & across various styles as noted above.

His works are held in various Museums such as the Smithsonian, Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Fogg Museum in Boston and others and in private collections as well. He also was commissioned for works and used in Federal work projects as well. The Cape Ann Museum holds 25 of his works as Romano spent many years living in that area. You can search that online & read about that.

Beyond his artistic life & yet a big part of it, was that Romano was a dedicated teacher/instructor throughout most of his life. From 1967 to 1974 he served as Vice President of design at the American Academy in Rome where he was a board member. And taught at the National Academy of Design for 10 years from 1968-78.

I have noticed over the many years of dealing in art, that the Artist/Instructors/Teachers seemed to have the most creative variety and skill in their life works. You can see this often when researching artists. Of course, nothing challenges personal growth more than teaching and maybe that is why Umberto was so gifted. In teaching students an instructor would have to work in various style and mediums, at least it seems to be the case. You can see his vast skill and variety when you research the artist.

But we are not pricing that high. We have to do that due to the precious metal content we cannot risk out of country sale. Please Note: We photograph & video artwork in different light settings to try and capture a painting, sculpture or other artwork's look in different settings. Therefore, there may be some variations in color from one picture to another. The photos are not altered, but may have been photographed in a brighter room, with natural light, a flash feature or other.

Videos tend to shoot a little darker than actual appearance. Also, we try to note any visible defects we can see but there may be wear or imperfections we miss. Please view all pictures taken for your consideration and use zoom feature if needed.

Likewise, you can always notify us with questions. We often take from 30-90 minutes packing more delicate & odd sized items to make sure your treasure is protected. Please follow our store if you love rare antiques, primitives and collectibles of many types. We scour the land for the rarest and neatest of items for our Buyers who love them. We offer everything from rusty industrial to fine art by renowned US and foreign artists.

We have Historic American, Antique advertising, Salesmen samples, Oil Paintings & sculptures by noted artists, Farm Primitives, Antique lighting fixtures and Aladdin lamps, militaria, Classic Comics, Sports Memorabilia and much, much more. It is our honor to offer these treasures to you.