Giorgio Cavallon Italian-American, 1904-1989

Giorgio Cavallon was born in Sorio, Italy and immigrated to the United States in 1920. In 1926, he enrolled in the National Academy of Design in New York. Upon graduating, he moved to the rich artistic community of Provincetown. There, he befriended Charles Hawthorne and Hans Hofmann. The time that Cavallon spent in Provincetown cultivated his lifelong commitment to his artistic goals and communal spirit.

In 1934, Cavallon was employed in the Works Progress Administration/ Federal Art Project (WPA/FAP) Easel & Mural Division as Arshile Gorky's assistant. In 1936, Cavallon participated in the formation of the American Abstract Artists group. These artists abandoned art history's traditional focus on subject matter. They were committed to illuminating the aesthetic qualities of their materials and to the production of beautiful ideas. By the end of the 1940s, Cavallon was connected with the early generation of New York School Abstract Expressionist artists. He was a charter member of The Club and participated in the Ninth Street Show in 1949.

Cavallon's works featured soft and irregular woven rectangles. They were rendered with Italianate sensitivity to radiating color. His art focuses on sensitivity toward form in space. Cavallon is praised for his unique signature style. In 1988, Cavallon was inducted into the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters in New York City.