Biography: 

Biagio Pinto was born in Philadelphia in 1911. His two brothers Salvatore Pinto (1905 – 1966) and Angelo Pinto were also artists. Dr. Albert C. Barnes, art collector and founder of the Barnes Foundation, was an ardent supporter of the three brothers—awarding them scholarship money for study and travel and accompanying them to Europe where he introduced them to Henri Matisse. On Matisse’s recommendation, the brothers set out to paint in North Africa. They got as far as Corsica where they were mistaken for spies. When Matisse identified them and vouched for their innocence, they were released.

 

In 1932, Albert Barnes purchased four paintings by the Pintos—the first local artists to be included in his famous collection. Explaining this unprecedented acquisition, Barnes wrote:

 

“The work of the Pinto brothers shows that they have studied the traditions of painting intelligently, have the sensitivity to grasp the individual contributions of the great masters, and have been able to make what they have learned the medium in which they express their own temperaments and personalities.”

 

Biagio Pinto taught at the Philadelphia College of Art (Now the University of the Arts) from 1962 – 1972. His work has been exhibited internationally and is in the permanent collections of the Barnes Foundation, The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Dallas Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Miami Museum of Modern Art.