Leo Lentelli

Leo Lentelli (20 October 1879 – 31 December 1961) was an Italian sculptor who immigrated to the United States. During his 52 years there, he created works throughout the country, notably in New York and San Francisco. He also taught sculpture. History

Water Sprites at Panama–Pacific International Exposition in San FranciscoBorn in Bologna, Italy, on October 29, 1879, Leo Lentelli studied in Bologna and Rome and worked as a sculptor in his native land. Immigrating to the United States in 1903 at the age of 24, Lentelli initially assisted in the studios of several established sculptors. Calder has been credited with aiding Lentelli in developing his own style. While in San Francisco he taught at the California School of Fine Arts. Still a resident of San Francisco, he made the ornament for the Orpheum Theater, then known as the Historic American Theater, at Saint Louis and created two-figure groups depicting pioneers on the Dennis Sullivan Gateway at Denver, Colorado. Among his important works located north of Meridian Hill Park in Washington, D.C. A benignity is achieved in the latter, its decorative element accented in the carved chair and graceful folds of the cassock.

The Charlottesville Robert E Lee statue was removed in 2021 in the aftermath of riots before being melted down in 2023.

Other works

Though best known for his work at Rockefeller Center in New York City, he created sculpture which can be seen at a number of other locations, including the following:

Brookgreen Gardens, South Carolina United States Department of Justice, Washington, DC U.S. General Service Administration, Washington, DC Oakland Museum, Oakland, California The Archer, San Francisco Museum of Art Pennsylvania Academy of Design Cathedral Church of Christ the King, Kalamazoo, Michigan Liberty Building, Buffalo, New York (the twin statues of liberty facing east and west atop the roof) The Breakers, Palm Beach, Florida

Images