Born on July 19th, 1933, in Brooklyn, NY, in a poor Italian neighborhood, riddled with crime and violence. His father and mother were hardworking people who raised him, his brother and sister well.
After settling in a better area of Brooklyn, he attended Lincoln High School with a strong art program. Already working in sculpture in high school, he created over 25 works in marble, wood, clay, & plaster. This allowed him to get a full college scholarship.
He graduated with honors in art from Columbia University. After graduation, he served in the US Army for 2 years; one of those years at the Pentagon. After his service, he received ‘The Prix de Rome’ fellowship to Rome, Italy. There, his first son Roberto was born.
Returning to the US in 1960, he taught at the University of Connecticut, for 2 years before he was offered a teaching position at Columbia University, where he taught for 6 years. He, then also taught at Sarah Lawrence College for 4 years.
With a lengthy teaching resume he accepted a leading position at Kingsborough College in 1978. Simultaneously between 1962-2010 he also taught at The School of Visual Arts, Art Students League, Parsons School of Design, Queens College, and was the United Nations Fulbright Judge for Sculpture.
Anthony became the president of the Audubon Society in Manhattan for 4 years. He remained at Kingsborough College until his retirement in 2010. During all these years he continued to create impressive sculptures. Many other sculptures and paintings still reside in homes, galleries, museums and other locations.
The messages are, however, quite different—warm, serene, sometimes even violent. I surprise myself and intend to keep doing that; to keep finding new vistas within my soul.
Anthony Padovano Teacher, Sculptor, Artist 