Army Doctor, WWII, Pacific Theater, 1943
signed lower right Sante Graziani and dated,
tempera on masonite, 25 x 19 1/2 inches,
in the original frame
Born in Cleveland, Sante Graziani studied at the Cleveland Institute, and received his BFA at Yale University School of Art. He then served in the U.S. army during WWII, where he was stationed in the Pacific Theater. He received his MFA from Yale University in 1948. Graziani stayed on at Yale as an instructor for several years, before directing the School of the Worcester Art Museum, where he remained until 1981. Employing Renaissance egg tempera techniques, he created numerous murals, including ones for the U.S. Post Office, various schools and libraries, and one at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. He won an international competition for a mural at the Springfield Art Museum in Massachusetts, completing the work in 1947. His style continued to change and develop over the following decades. Solo exhibitions have included those at Mount Holyoke College, Knoedler Gallery, Babcock Galleries, Kanegis Galleries, Worcester Art Museum, Allentown Art Museum (PA), Cleveland Institute of Art, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Springfield (MA).