About the Artist
Anthony "Toni" Bonagura
(1897-1963)
Anthony Bonagura was born in Naples, Italy in 1897 to Louis and Carmella Bonagura. In 1905 the family migrated to America, where they settled in Brooklyn, NY. After completing high school, he moved to Chicago where he attended night school at the Chicago Art Institute and by day worked in an artists' studio as a paste-up boy. Eight years later he had done well enough to land a job as an Art Director for Lord & Thomas Agency, one of Chicago's leading advertising firms. He later became Art Director for J.M. Bundscho Agency of Chicago, the largest typographic plant in the country. Eventually he moved to back to New York City, where he achieved his fame as a free lance designer and calligrapher, serving as a consultant to many advertising agencies and periodicals. Anthony received his academic art training at Copper Union and The Art Students League of New York, where he studied Life Drawing under George Bridgeman.
Upon his early retirement from the advertising business and because of his health, Anthony undertook less strenuous work away from the pressure of the advertising field. At his farm in Gardiner, New York, he began the leisurely enjoyment of painting with sustained enthusiasm and inspiration. It was during this time that Anthony created some of the most inspiring still-life paintings, which have been compared to the level of work of the great Dutch school of the 16th and 17th centuries. His versatility in art also found successful contemporary expression in what he termed, "Impressionistic Abstract". Having made a place as a painter of still-life, many other artists would consider no other form for fear of their own limitations. But in his placid yet continual search for the best way to express himself, Anthony has run the gamut of portraits, just breath short of life, to modern abstract art.
Anthony was a life time member of the Grand Central Art Galleries in New York City. Many of his paintings have been exhibited in national exhibitions throughout the country, including the Chicago Galleries Association, The Grand Central Galleries of New York, The Academic Artist Association of Springfield, Mass., The Painters and Sculpture Society of New Jersey, and the Art Student League of New York. One of his greatest accomplishments and the one thing he was most proud of was the acceptance of his painting "After the Hurricane" by the National Academy of Design for their 131st Annual Exhibition in 1956.
In the 1961 World Telegram and Sun, Louis J. Marion, one of the nations top art appraisers at the time and Executive Vice President of Parke Bernet Galleries, said of Anthony's paintings, "They are the finest dramatic, realistic still life specimens he has ever seen, including the works of William Harnett." Mr. Marion advised Anthony that he doesn't need an auction, instead he needs a one man exhibit and sale at one of the midtown galleries. Mr. C.O. Woodbury, the art editor of Readers Digest, wrote of Anthony's still life paintings, "I must say they are beautifully done and have the skill of the real masters behind them."
Anthony passed away in 1963, at the age of 66, at his farm in upstate New York. Most of his paintings were left in private collections with family and friends and there are many whose whereabouts are unknown.
The Estate is actively seeking information about works by Anthony (Toni) Bonagura in public and private collections. If you are a current or previous owner of Anthony's work, please use the contact form to submit information to the estate. Thank you!!
Upon his early retirement from the advertising business and because of his health, Anthony undertook less strenuous work away from the pressure of the advertising field. At his farm in Gardiner, New York, he began the leisurely enjoyment of painting with sustained enthusiasm and inspiration. It was during this time that Anthony created some of the most inspiring still-life paintings, which have been compared to the level of work of the great Dutch school of the 16th and 17th centuries. His versatility in art also found successful contemporary expression in what he termed, "Impressionistic Abstract". Having made a place as a painter of still-life, many other artists would consider no other form for fear of their own limitations. But in his placid yet continual search for the best way to express himself, Anthony has run the gamut of portraits, just breath short of life, to modern abstract art.
Anthony was a life time member of the Grand Central Art Galleries in New York City. Many of his paintings have been exhibited in national exhibitions throughout the country, including the Chicago Galleries Association, The Grand Central Galleries of New York, The Academic Artist Association of Springfield, Mass., The Painters and Sculpture Society of New Jersey, and the Art Student League of New York. One of his greatest accomplishments and the one thing he was most proud of was the acceptance of his painting "After the Hurricane" by the National Academy of Design for their 131st Annual Exhibition in 1956.
In the 1961 World Telegram and Sun, Louis J. Marion, one of the nations top art appraisers at the time and Executive Vice President of Parke Bernet Galleries, said of Anthony's paintings, "They are the finest dramatic, realistic still life specimens he has ever seen, including the works of William Harnett." Mr. Marion advised Anthony that he doesn't need an auction, instead he needs a one man exhibit and sale at one of the midtown galleries. Mr. C.O. Woodbury, the art editor of Readers Digest, wrote of Anthony's still life paintings, "I must say they are beautifully done and have the skill of the real masters behind them."
Anthony passed away in 1963, at the age of 66, at his farm in upstate New York. Most of his paintings were left in private collections with family and friends and there are many whose whereabouts are unknown.
The Estate is actively seeking information about works by Anthony (Toni) Bonagura in public and private collections. If you are a current or previous owner of Anthony's work, please use the contact form to submit information to the estate. Thank you!!