COURTESY OF SUSAN SAUNDERSONFinding four paintings by George Di Carlo, the majority of which were painted on Prince Edward Island, began a search for information about Di Carlo and his career as a painter.
An obituary from 2007 confirms that the career of George Di Carlo (1926-2007) had been based in Montreal and that he had family members in Toronto.
Obituary George Di Carlo. Age eighty-one, after a debilitating stroke, died May 14 at the Montreal General Hospital. Montreal has lost a gentle, delightfully joyous, free-spirited, immensely talented artist, whose love for great Renaissance art informed so much of his work. He was a muralist, and decorative master, whose work graces the homes of many grateful residents in Montreal, London, and New York. His clients included the Ritz Carleton, Queen Elizabeth and Chateau Frontenac hotels. A step inside the Globe Building - 1350 Sherbrooke Street West - reveals a floor to ceiling masterpiece, an inspired depiction of the signs of he zodiac, rendered in marquetry, unlike anything to be seen anywhere on the planet outside of Italy - a Montreal treasure. George will be missed by adoring members of his family in Toronto, and his many Montreal friends who were privileged to spend time in the company of a supremely modest, angelic clown, when laughter reined supreme. His family and friends wish to thank the Royal Victoria Emergency, and the kind staff on the 14th floor of the Montreal General Hospital. Contributions to the Stroke and Heart Foundation, the Royal Victoria Hospital Foundation, and the Montreal General Hospital Foundation, would be appreciated by the family. There will be no funeral service: a memorial event is being planned to take place soon in Montreal.
Published in The Gazette, Montreal from May 16 to May 19, 2007.
George Di Carlo became a family friend of Flora & Keith Rogers in Charlottetown and when the family opened a new transmission tower in North River for their radio station, CFCY which was billed as The Friendly Voice of the Maritimes, George provided a painting of the new transmission facilities during a summer visit. The painting of the towers was inherited by their son William Keith Rogers (1921-2019) and his wife Laurette Boissoneault, who were longtime Montreal residents.
George's interest in both Zen Buddhism and the Baháʼí faith would have made him a comfortable visitor in the Roger's household in Charlottetown as Flora Rogers maintained contact and supported members of the fledgling Baháʼí community on PEI as it was becoming established. She was a member of Trinity United Church in Charlottetown, with a strong interest in personal spiritual growth. Baháʼí teachings note the essential worth of all religions and the unity of all people.
Four painting owned by the Rogers family include:
George Di Carlo - At McGeana Farm Vernon Bridge PEI The identification of farm name is still tentative based on unclear writing.
George Di Carlo - Rocky Point Wharf, Charlottetown, PEI
George Di Carlo - 1950 CFCY New Towers, North River PEI
George Di Carlo - 1951 Location is not identified but shows reddish soil and a waterfront scene suggesting coastal activity.
An article on his career was published July 8, 2007 by The Gazette in Montreal
‘ He was basically a happy man who carried his happiness with him’ said a friend
Montreal Gazette
ALAN HUSTAK THE GAZETTE
George di Carlo was an accomplished muralist and painter responsible for the lavish interior decor of a number of hotels and restaurants across Canada, including the Queen Elizabeth Hotel as well as the Royal Suite at the Ritz-Carlton in Montreal, the Hotel Vancouver and the Banff Springs Hotel.
He was 80 when he died in the Montreal General Hospital May 14, following a stroke.
“He had a fascination with mythological creatures and all the imagery that goes with it. He was influenced by the Italian renaissance and an expert at trompe l’oeil,” said Robert Verrall, a NFB filmmaker and friend who studied art with di Carlo.
“He was proud of his murals and of his chinoisorie. He was basically a happy man who carried his happiness with him. When he walked into a room, people brightened.
“He might have been much more commercially successful, but his modesty kept him poor.”
George di Carlo, the youngest of eight children in an Italian immigrant’s family was born in Belleville, Ont., June 29, 1926. His father worked for the Canadian National Railway. His brothers were all trained as tool and die makers, but di Carlo chose to attend the Ontario College of Art where he was awarded the Governor-General’s medal for general proficiency in 1946. He studied fresco painting in New York and in 1948 was commissioned to decorate a house in Westmount.
He lived in Japan for several years and studied Zen Buddhism and B’Hai. In the 1970s he lived in Europe where he started executing large scale works for interiors of hotels and restaurants as well as the homes of the rich and famous. He spent a year decorating the walls and ceilings of a London mansion for Lady Baille, the U.S.-born heiress who restored Leeds Castle in England, and decorated a New York apartment for Versace, the acclaimed fashion designer. His most lucrative commission was for a royal palace in Saudi Arabia.
“He was such a magical person. He never liked the idea of using mechanical devices when he worked. He said anyone could use a machine,” his niece, Marie LeBlanc, said.
“He liked being an original, one of a kind. He continuously reminded us that there is only one original.”
He rarely signed his own name to his works, using instead the name of the Greek god Proteus, who changed his shape at will.
The marquetry depicting the signs of the zodiac fashioned from Hawaiian Koa Flex wood in the Globe building at 1350 Sherbrooke St. W. in Montreal is considered one of his masterworks.
One of his patrons, Mike Rosenbloom, described di Carlo as an “incredibly talented, creative and discriminating.
“It took him two years to complete the marquetry,” Rosenbloom added.
“He painted furniture for us, wooden screens, doors, all kinds of things. I tried for years to get him to do paintings to sell, but he wasn’t interested. He did things he wanted to do and if he wasn’t interested in a commission, he wouldn’t do it. Things he liked, often he’d do practically gratis.”
Susan Saunderson, another of di Carlo’s friends, said: “He was one of those artists who lived on an abstract plane.”
“He was courtly, elegant – gentilezza is the word in Italian that best describes him. He was a mischievous angel with a gentle, wink-wink, nudge-nudge, sense of humour.”
Di Carlo also illustrated horoscope calendars for the International Astrological Society.
“He never allowed anyone to watch him work. He was very quick, very good, very generous,” said his long-time friend, Sam Ferstman.
“Sometimes he’d do a painting, and if he liked the customer he wouldn’t charge for his work, even when he didn’t have the money and couldn’t afford to give his paintings away. He could be generous to a fault.”
He had a vast library, enjoyed opera and classical music, and although he owned a television rarely watched anything other than the weather channel.
A memorial service is planned for the fall.
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With almost no changes, the National Post also published the article on July 10, 2007 with another picture of George di Carlo
JOHN KENNEY / CANWEST NEWS SERVICEGeorge di Carlo enjoyed creating his Italian Renaissance-inspired murals and paintings so much that he would often refuse to accept payment from customers. “He might have been commercially successful,” one friend said, “but his modesty kept him poor.”
