Ralph Fasanella (1914-1997).
Street Corner at Night.
1965.
Oil on canvas.
Signed and dated lower right. Fasanella 1965."
Excellent condition.
Painting 17 ½"h x 27" w.
Frame 18 ½"h x 28" w.
Provenance: ex. Collection of Victor Niederhoffer.
Est. $4,000-$6,000. Ship: $45

Born to Italian immigrant parents, Fasanella spent his youth delivering ice with his father from a horse-driven wagon. His father Joseph Fasanella abandoned his family and returned to Italy in the 1920s, which led to young Ralph serving two brutal stints in reform schools run by the Catholic Church. (He later said he was sexually abused by the priests there.) His crimes: truancy and running away from home. During the Great Depression Fasanella worked in garment factories and as a truck driver. A self-taught artist who began to paint in 1945, he became consumed by art and left labor union organizing to paint full time. To pay the bills, he bought a service station and worked there. On October 30, 1972, Fasanella appeared on the cover of New York magazine. The cover depicted him wearing a work shirt and standing in his tiny studio. Accompanying the photo was the headline: “This man pumps gas in the Bronx for a living. He may also be the best primitive painter since Grandma Moses." That magazine cover catapulted Fasanella to national fame. His canvases are bold, colorful, and loaded with detail. Themes included organized labor, the dignity of work, family, New York City, the Yankees, memories of his youth, and many others. Fasanella’s work was featured in a retrospective at the American Folk Art Museum, New York, in 2014.