Baltimore's Own Little Italy Artist: the Artwork of Tony DeSales [Hardcover]

Rita D. French (Author), Perrin L. French (Author), Irvin F. Lin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2002

Baltimore’s Own Little Italy Artist: the artwork of Tony DeSales is a biography/art and a regional history book. It contains sketches and photographs of historic buildings, maritime scenes, churches and rowhouses in Baltimore City, Fells Point and Little Italy. Sketches of historical sites in Washington, D.C., Annapolis and New Jersey are also included. Captions of historical interest are provided with the sketches and photographs. The captions that accompany the artwork range from topics such as Italian and Polish immigration to the East Coast, a history of the founding of the Smithsonian Institution to the history of the Moran Towing Company and the Vane Brothers Chandlery operating out of the Port of Baltimore.

Tony DeSales was a Baltimore institution. He was a self-taught al fresco artist who sold his sketches of Baltimore, Annapolis and Washington scenes from his corner in Little Italy for thirty-five years. Fawn and High Streets is at the intersection of four Italian restaurants where Tony DeSales greeted tourists and made himself the center of the neighborhood. He took care of his mother, who often accompanied him on the corner while he worked. He introduced people to his mother and chatted with celebrities and locals who dined in the Italian restaurants. He did errands for the older Italian ladies in the neighborhood and had a significant influence on many of the local young people. He hand-published a small newspaper that contained stories, poetry and prose about the people of Little Italy.

Many visitors to the Baltimore area collected the artwork of Tony DeSales. He gave out postcards with his sketches on them to tourists and asked them to mail them back to him when they arrived home. The book contains a sampling of the postcards returned to him from all over the world. It is an inspirational story of a man who lived his life to express his artistic talents and who put relationships with people before all other pursuits.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Bawlmer guidebook....brisk, literate prose... interesting and essentials and gemlike factoids ...belongs on the Baltimore bookshelf" -- Tom Chalkley, Baltimore City Paper

"For 35 years on the corner of Fawn and High streets, he was Baltimore’s best and truest ambassador." -- William Donald Schaefer, Comptroller of the State of Maryland

"Through his eyes and artwork, Tony DeSales captured the heart and soul of Baltimore." -- Martin O'Malley, Mayor of Baltimore

"Tony DeSales captured the essence of Little Italy because he was Little Italy." -- Barbara A. Mikulski, U.S. Senator, Maryland

"Tony's sketches bring back wonderful memories of my family and the city we were so proud to call home." -- Nancy Pelosi, Democratic Whip of the U.S. House of Representatives

"a valuable resource to anyone wanting to gain a full appreciation of life in Baltimore and its surrounding areas." -- Freeman Hrabowski, President, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

"something about this book will grip at your throat. There's love and quirkiness emanating from this lush coffee table book" -- Hopkins Medical News

"the most remarkable 'coffee table' books I've ever seen... It should grace the personal libraries of Baltimore citizens and celebrities." -- Eva Marie Everson, Writer's Digest

Street Artist Tony DeSales’ Life Story Wins Benjamin Franklin Awards’ Silver Medallion -- Press release, Genovefa Press

About the Author

Rita deSales French, a Baltimore native, attended St. Patrick’s School for Girls on South Broadway and Patterson High School in Baltimore. She was a neuro-histology technician at Johns Hopkins Medical School’s Department of Anatomy from 1963 to 1968. She received a B.A., summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, from Boston University, an M.A. in Education from Stanford University, and a Ph.D. in Psychology from Stanford University. She lives and works in Palo Alto, California.

Perrin Lindol French, a native of San Francisco, attended Town School for Boys in San Francisco, Phillips Academy at Andover, Massachusetts, and Harvard College, where he received the David McCord Prize for Promotion of the Arts within the Houses and Harvard Medical School’s Paul M. Howard Prize for humane treatment of patients in a psychiatric setting. He earned his M.D. at the Johns Hopkins University Medical School. He works at the Palo Alto Veteran’s Affairs Health Care System in Menlo Park, California. He and Rita have a daughter, Leslie E. French, who lives in Mountain View, California.

Irvin F. Lin, a native of St. Louis, Missouri, attended Parkway Central High School, Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, where he earned a B.F.A.in Painting and a B.A. in English Literature. He did his First year International Baccalaureate at the Rijnland Lyceum, Oegstgeest, The Netherlands and post-graduate study in Graphic Design at Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri. He has received awards for his work in graphic design, including the American Graphic Design Award, the Mercury Award Gold Winner and the Communicator 2000 Award of Distinction. He lives and works in San Francisco, California.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 244 pages
• Publisher: Genovefa Pr (November 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0972359001
• ISBN-13: 978-0972359009
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,528,478 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Baltimore's Little Italy Artist, January 5, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Baltimore's Own Little Italy Artist: the Artwork of Tony DeSales (Hardcover)

This book is like a trip down "memory lane" for those of us who grew up in Baltimore. It is apparent that a great deal of thought went into the prepartion of this book. The full page prints are nicely presented on glossy paper. This is also an inspiring story of a man's generosity to his family and his community via his artwork.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Warm Visual Embrace of Baltimore's Little Italy, December 25, 2002

By 

ilo soovere (Perry Point, Md) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Baltimore's Own Little Italy Artist: the Artwork of Tony DeSales (Hardcover)

This lovingly crafted book Rita and Perrin French
traces the work of Rita's brother Tony DeSales.
The prints are warm,evocative and touch the spirit of
place, They show artist and scene as one; his trying to
make you observe the vision of Baltimore that he had embraced.
Many are hauntingly beautiful renderings and show a warm remembrance of his vision. You will see many nuances
of place and look again at places found in this wonderfully
crafted editon.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Baltimore's Own Little Italy Artist, December 17, 2002

By 

Gilbert M Bohannon Jr (Baltimore, MD USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Baltimore's Own Little Italy Artist: the Artwork of Tony DeSales (Hardcover)

Although I am not usually an art fan, I found this book to be a delightful view into the life and work of Tony DeSales. If you love Baltimore (as I do) then this book is for you. The many drawings and photographs of local landmarks will give you a different view that only Tony DeSales can provide. This is a great book!