Lot 107: Rizzo, Anthony

Rizzo, Anthony California (1919-2000) COWBOYS AMONGST ASPENS watercolor, framed signed: lower right, Rizzo sight size: H19 1/2" W25 1/4" *Artist biography: According to the artist's son, "my father died on January 15, 2000, due to cancer of liver and the pancreas. He was born on February 24, 1919, in New York state. In 1926, he and his family moved to Culver City, near Santa Monica, California. I am not sure if he was drafted or if he volunteered to go into the army, but he was assigned to, I believe, Pruett Air Army field in Maine. He worked as a cartoonist for the base newspaper. I am not sure what he did right after the end of World War II, but he did sign up to go to Chouinard Art School sometime in the late 40s. He worked for Walt Disney, starting I believe, in 1951. He was a background painter on classics including "Sleeping Beauty," "101 Dalmations," "The Sword in the Stone," and "The Aristocats," among many others. He also worked for many other animation studios as well, including Hanna-Barbera, Filmation, and DePatie-Freleng, where he worked on "The Flintstones," "Top Cat," "Jonny Quest," and "The Road Runner." In 1966, my father suffered a small stroke, and it took him a few years to get his artistic ability back up to snuff. I believe at this point in time he had changed his style of painting. I know that as a small child I used to be in his "art room" and watched him paint in his abstract type of style. With an art career that spanned more than half a century, Rizzo was a member of many art associations, including the Valley Artists Guild in Los Angeles, and he won many awards for his paintings.