Rita Boley Bolaffio

Rita Boley Bolaffio (née Luzzatto; Trieste, Italy, 7 June 1898 - New York City, United States, 20 May 1995^{[citation needed]}) was an Italian artist who was instrumental in reintroducing collage and decoupage into the United States.^[1][2][3][4]

Early years

Rita was born Margherita Luzzatto in Trieste, Italy to Angelo Luzzatto and Olga Senigaglia.^[3][5]

Her family moved to Vienna, where she passed World War I. She studied art under Josef Hoffmann at the Kunstgewerbeschule.^[5] She also studied violin under the famous violinist František Ondříček at the Neues Wiener Konservatorium.^[5] She did textile designs for the renowned Wiener Werkstaette.^[5]

In 1919 she married Oscar Bolaffio, an architect and engineer, and cousin of painter Vittorio Bolaffio.^{[citation needed]} They moved to Milan in 1928, where Rita became one of the first horsewomen in Italy, riding sidesaddle, and won the "Premio Ciglione della Malpensa" (the Ciglione della Malpensa Prize) in 1936.^{[citation needed]}

American career

Machine for Writing Poetry, circa 1955

Arabesque, circa 1963

In 1939, the Fascist anti-Jewish policies forced the family to flee to America.^{[citation needed]} She began a career as an artist, specializing in imaginative collages that were displayed in the windows of most major department stores in America, including Lord & Taylor, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, Carson Pirie Scott, and many more, as well as many private commissions.^{[citation needed]} She regularly contributed covers for such magazines as Harper's Bazaar, Vogue, Town & Country, Good Housekeeping, and Woman's Day.^{[citation needed]}

Boley Bolaffio was best known for her dramatic window displays in New York City.^[4] Additionally, she had many awards and one-woman exhibitions at museums and galleries (e.g. J.L. Hudson Gallery, Detroit, Guild Hall Museum, East Hampton, N.Y. and the Columbia Museum of Art in South Carolina).^[5] Her 1941 collection of decoupage works at the James Pendleton Gallery in New York City was favorably reviewed in The New York Times, and in 1950 that same newspaper described her as a "leading exponent" of decoupage.^[6][7] Her work is included in European reference works on modern art.^{[citation needed]}

She received the Premio di Sorrento 1965 for her poem "Nell'afa".^{[citation needed]}

Personal life

Boley Bolaffio was married to Orville F. Boley.^[5] They had two sons: Bruno A. Boley and Lucius R. Boley.^[5]

References

1. Neuschutz, Louise Morgenstern (1948). A Job for Every Woman. H. W. Wilson Company.
2. Good Housekeeping. International Magazine Company. 1942.
3. Philadelphia, Pa : Artists/USA (1976). Artists/USA, the bicentennial issue. Philadelphia, Pa. : Artists/USA. ISBN 978-0-912916-04-0.
4. Dorothy Harrower (1958). Decoupage, a limitless world in decoration. Bonanza Books. pp. 112–114.
5. "Boley Bolaffio, Rita". Who's Who of American Women: 1985-86. Marquis Who's Who. 1984. p. 79.
6. Walter Rendell Storey (November 9, 1941). "Home Decoration: The Ballet Influence on Dressing Tables; Pasting Up Cut-Outs". The New York Times. p. 112.
7. "DECORATIVE CUT-OUTS FOR HOME ON DISPLAY". The New York Times. April 6, 1950. p. 31.

External links

• "Bolaffio, Rita Boley", MoMA archives of modern artists