User:John.f.paramino

John Francis Paramino (1888 - 1956) was a Boston sculptor whose memorials to American history can be found on Boston Commons, inside the Italian Renaissance Revival styled Massachusetts State House, and hidden away in forgotten alleyways, bridge-sides, old buildings, and inaccessible beaches.

Early Life and Influence
John Paramino was born and raised during the American Renaissance in Arlington Massachusetts to Charles Paramino, an immigrant from the municipality Cicagna in Genoa, Italy.

[I think it is incorrect regarding the location of his childhood ... but this is important. Grandpa would argue Uncle John should be fighting, not sculpting during WWII ... despite the fact the Paramino was commissioned to sculpt the first WWII monument in the US and the world, in Boston. So why did he choose to do so many memorial pieces, as opposed to the more lucrative work. He was a rich man with rich friends, people who could afford a lot more than the government (even under Curley ... "the Ceasar of Boston" - cite, see um, The Rascal King i think.

As Paramino becomes a notable sculptor, he focuses on commissions celebrating great American histories, pieces which he takes great care unveiling on significant anniversaries.

In 1824, Marquis de Lafayette visited Boston and Bunker Hill on his famous "Grand Tour" of America on her 50th birthday.

In 1924, exactly one-hundred years after the famous general's visit, Paramino unveils his memorial to Lafayette.

In 1925, Paramino commemorates the 250th anniversary of the Revolutionary War with his "The Declaration of Indenpendence Plaque".

In 1930, with great ceremony, Paramino's "Founder's Memorial" is unveiled 300 years to the day of the founding of Boston.

Later Life
A decade before his death in 1956, John Francis Paramino explains the importance of art, memorials, and the celebration of history in a booklet entitled "Sculpture as a medium of expression: memorials as works of art".

Despite his work and the marks he left, Paramino was largely forgotten after the 1950s.

His plaque marking "The First Encounter" between the Mayflower Company and the Nauset Tribe of the Wampanoag Nation is on a beach accessible only by foot.

A plaque for "Boston's Latin School", the first school in the United states, can be found in an alley on the wall of an old brick building.

A recent billion dollar restoration of Gloucester's "Abram Piatt Andrew Bridge" revealed bas-reliefs difficult to appreciate driving by at 50 mph.

These forgotten pieces are not a slight to the artist and neither has Paramino been forgotten; they simply reflect how prolific he was.

Thousands residents and tourists daily pass by his famous bas-reliefs on Boston Commons. Tourists of the Massahusetts State House learn that John Francis Paramino is the most represented Italian-American sculptor in the palatial beautiful marble building.

Selected Works
Boston Common, Tremont St, (1949)
 * Commodore John Barry

Beacon Street (1924)
 * Rev William Blaxton

Beacon Street (1925)
 * John Singleton Copley

Pemberton Square (1930)
 * John Cotton

Boston Common, Tremont St (1925)
 * Declaration of Independence

Faneuil Hall Square, back of building (1930)
 * Faneuil Hall

Faneuil Hall Square, front left (1930)
 * Faneuil Hall

State St. and Washington (1925)
 * Captain Robert Keayne

Boston Common, Tremont St (1924)
 * The Lafayette Mall

Franklin Street (1925)
 * Jean Lefebvre de Cheverus

Bromfield Street (1924)
 * Abraham Lincoln

State Street (1930)
 * Long Wharf Site

School St and Chapman Place (1935)
 * Boston Public Latin School

Boston Common, Beacon St (1930) Samoset road at First Encounter Beach, Cape Cod Bay (1922)
 * Founding of Boston, (today: "The Founder's Memorial")
 * Provincetowm Tercentenary

Influence

 * Augustus Saint-Gaudens
 * Bela Lyon Pratt