An open access repository for scholars and beyond
Lionello Arturo Lopes Perera (born Leone Arturo Perera Lopez, Venice, June 25, 1871 – New York, April 26, 1942) was a banker, philanthropist and patron of the arts and music, active in Manhattan at the beginning of the 20th century. He was born and grew up in Venice, Italy, and studied at Ca’ Foscari University – at the time “Regia Scuola Superiore di Commercio” (Royal High School of Commerce) – later emigrating to the USA, invited by his uncle, the banker Salvatore Cantoni. He continued his career in New York where he participated in the foundation of The Bank of America together with Amadeo Peter Giannini. Furthermore, Lionello was involved in many charities which gave aid to Italian immigrants of the east coast. He was also a passionate patron of the arts, supporting many artists and musicians such as Arturo Toscanini. He helped Fiorello La Guardia run-up for the office of mayor of New York tanks to his influence in the Italian American community.
Thanks to the collaboration with the Perera Family Archive, the rich material legacy of Lionello Perera comprising documents, letters, and photographs is made publicly available in this online repository that provides open access to the full range of sources and papers related to his life, profession and passions for the benefit of future research. This digital collection of varied materials, which is physically scattered among the extended Perera family, is searchable online both according to the nature of the items (Archival Material, Artworks, Documents, Letters, Drawings, Photos, and Newspapers) and by means of a wide array of thematic clusters (e.g. Banker, Patron, Philanthropist, Italian Americans, Music etc.).
Scholars and specialists among the initiators
Principle investigator of this repository, as well as of the biography of Lionello Perera is Diego Mantoan, a tenure-track Assistant Professor in Modern and Contemporary Art History at the University of Palermo, Italy, with a wide background in social and economic history. He is among the founding members of the Venice Centre for Digital and Public Humanities at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Italy. He acts as Advisory Editor at Vernon Press and Associate Editor of magazén | International Journal for Digital and Public Humanities. His book The Road to Parnassus: Artist Strategies in Contemporary Art for Vernon Press (2015) was long-listed for the Berger Prize 2016, which is awarded yearly in London by The British Art Journal. His second monograph, Autoritär, elitär und unzugänglich (Neofleis 2018), investigates the art system and power relations within economy and society. He recently edited Paolozzi & Wittgenstein: The Artist and The Philosopher for Palgrave (2019). Mantoan was a visiting fellow at New York University Tandon collaborating with the Department of Technology, Culture and Society, as well as visiting lecturer at Sotheby’s Institute of Art and Warwick University. Over the years he delivered speeches on topics spanning from art history to social history at renowned institutions such as Bibliotheca Hertziana, UCL London, New York University, Universität Bern, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Sotheby’s Institute of Art, Galerie Belvedere Vienna, Université Grenoble Alpes, Universität St. Gallen, and MAAT Lisboa. He was Assistant Director and Jury Secretary at the Venice Biennale, later developing art archives for Douglas Gordon (Berlin), Sigmar Polke Es- tate (Cologne), Julia Stoschek Collection (Düsseldorf ), and Museo Mario Rimoldi (Cortina). As a public historian he collaborates with cultural institutes of international renown such as Rai Radio3, Goethe Institut, Fondazione Teatro La Fenice, and Peggy Guggenheim Collection.
Developer of this repository is Silvia Ballarin, MA at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, a trained art historian and specialised archivist that has worked alongside Prof. Diego Mantoan for various projects in the digital and public humanities. She has worked at the historical archive of the Venice Biennale, Archivio Storico delle Arti Contemporanee, and for the digitisation project of the Modern and Contemporary Art Museum Mario Rimoldi in Cortina d’Ampezzo.
Perera family, courtesy and acknowledgments
This repository and the accompanying book with Vernon Press rest on a collaborative research that was made possible especially thanks to the direct involvement of the extended Perera family. First and foremost, our gratitude goes to Leo Collier, Carol Weingeist and Rosie Perera who fundamentally helped retrieving the materials among the Perera family now made accessible through this online repository, thus entrusting us with Lionello Perera’s legacy. Thanks also go to the Ca’ Foscari Alumni –especially to Andrea Tomat, Marco Cosmo, and Anna Morbiato– for the support and enthusiasm provided in the early stages of this long journey. We are particularly grateful to soprano Giulia Alberti, actress Chiara Clini, and pianist Ilaria Torresan for collaborating on creative works to tell Lionello Perera’s biography that aired on national broadcast Rai Radio3 and were performed at the renowned Teatro La Fenice in Venice. Finally, thanks go to all museums and institutions that granted copyright to reproduce the artworks and documents formerly in the collection of Lionello Perera.
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CONTACTS (for information, reproduction and copyright issues):
Prof. Diego Mantoan > diego.mantoan@unipa.it
PereraPapers 