Italo Botti was born in Greenwich Village, New York in 1923.  His artistic career began at age nine, upon winning a competition which led to a scholarship at the Leonardo da Vinci School of Art in Brooklyn.  Botti subsequently studied at the Brooklyn Academy of Fine Art, at the Abracheff School of Fine Art and the Art Student's League of New York. Major influences on his work have been Nicolai Abracheff, Frank Vincent Dumond, Reginald Marsh and Bernard Lamott, all of whom were his instructors.

After the Second World War, Mr. Botti taught at the City College of New York and expanded his repertoire executing murals, mosaics, stained glass and sculpture.

Source: www.vee-r.com/zantman

The following information was submitted by Jean M. Severin in June of 2006:

American artist who worked in glass, mosaics, sculptures and painting, who was known for the rapidity of his creations, often creating two paintings in a single evening, who founded the Botti Studio of Architectural Arts which created or restored paintings for churches, hospitals, government buildings and museums, died April 23, 2003 during heart surgery in Sarasota, FL at age 80.