Richard di Liberto, expert photographer of museum art, dies at 82
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Tuesday, November 26, 2024


Richard di Liberto, expert photographer of museum art, dies at 82
In a photo provided by the di Liberto family, Richard di Liberto in an undated photo. di Liberto, who photographed the Frick’s collection of paintings, drawings, sculpture, decorative objects and furniture from 1974 until his retirement in 2004, died on April 1, 2020 at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, N.Y., on Long Island of the novel coronavirus, his granddaughter, Nika Sabasteanski, said. He was 82. (di Liberto family via The New York Times)

by Steven Kurutz



NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- As the chief of photography at the Frick Collection on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, Richard di Liberto was one of the “upstairs” employees — the curators, conservators and administrators who run the museum.

But di Liberto, the son of an Italian immigrant bricklayer, liked to hang out downstairs — in the basement billiards room, with the custodians, gardeners, guards, art movers and maintenance workers who shot pool in the afternoons.

A musician since his teens, he used lunch breaks to play drums at Jazz at Noon, a long-running weekly jam session in Manhattan.

And when his granddaughter visited him at work, di Liberto would lift the velvet rope and whisk her upstairs to show off the opulent rooms forbidden to museumgoers.

Di Liberto photographed the Frick’s collection of paintings, drawings, sculpture, decorative objects and furniture from 1974 until his retirement in 2004. He also shot interior and exterior architectural images of the museum and any traveling exhibits. His photographs illustrate many of the Frick’s books, catalogs and press materials.

Di Liberto died April 1 at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, New York, on Long Island. He was 82. His granddaughter, Nika Sabasteanski, said the cause was COVID-19.

Richard Peter di Liberto was born Feb. 7, 1938, in Manhattan to Gaetano di Liberto, who emigrated from Sicily, and Mildred (Macaluso) di Liberto. The family soon moved from a tenement on the Lower East Side to Corona, Queens.




Di Liberto dropped out of high school at 17 and enlisted in the Air Force. After his discharge, he returned to the city and finished his GED, working a series of humdrum jobs before pursuing photography. He took courses at RCA Institutes and the Rochester Institute of Technology, apprenticed himself to fine-art photographer Scott Hyde and began shooting art and architecture for corporate clients, galleries and museums.

The Brooklyn Museum hired him as its chief of photography in 1971. But two years later, when a dispute broke out between museum staff members and a new director, di Liberto sided with the staff, resigned and went to work for the Frick.

Photographing art is a specialty, requiring the technical skill to show a variety of objects and surfaces in their best light. Using a medium-format film camera, di Liberto captured the subtle veining of a marble bust, the patterns of an 18th-century Flemish tapestry, the craquelure of a Goya canvas. He printed the images in a darkroom on site.

Outside of work, di Liberto restored old sports cars. He and Galen Lee, the Frick’s horticulturist, rented a garage in Queens with other gear heads.

“Richard had an obsession with cars and convertibles,” Lee said. “We’d go out there and figure out why they never ran right.”

Di Liberto spent his retirement at home in Beechhurst, Queens, with his wife, Irene di Liberto, and at their rural cabin west of Albany. The couple met as teenagers when he was stationed at Mitchel Air Force Base on Long Island.

“We would have been married 62 years,” Irene di Liberto said. “If you want to call it love at first sight, sure, that’s what it was. We always made a good partnership.”

In addition to his granddaughter and his wife, Richard di Liberto is survived by two daughters, Lisa di Liberto and Carolyn di Liberto, and a grandson, Harper di Liberto-Bell.

© 2020 The New York Times Company










Today's News

July 8, 2020

Seven Fauvist works newly deposited on permanent loan at the Kunstmuseum Basel

Fossil of giant 70m year-old fish found in Argentina

Michael Werner Gallery announces East Hampton location

A selection of works from Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans Foundation to be offered at Bonhams

Christie's announces the first virtual Asian Art Week

Gladstone Gallery announces the representation of The Estate of Elizabeth Murray

Masterwork by Henry Moore achieves top lot at Bonhams Sale of Impressionist & Modern Art

Richard di Liberto, expert photographer of museum art, dies at 82

Christie's announces highlights included in The Collector sale

Chitra Ganesh joins Hales

On Syria river, craftsmen revive famed water wheels

Phillips New Now Sale to include works by Eddie Martinez, Oscar Murillo, Anish Kapoor, and Amoako Boafo

Morse Museum acquires and prepares installation of remarkable Tiffany Fireplace Hood

National Museum of Women in the Arts announces new acquisitions

Machu Picchu to reopen at 50% capacity, but no date set

Works by Grenfell artist Khadija Saye launch public art project

Venice tourism may never be the same. It could be better.

An ancient valley lost to 'progress'

In Russia, they tore down lots of statues, but little changed

Dubai reopens doors to tourists after long shutdown

Nigeria academy looks to spread ballet among Lagos poor

Ringo marks 80th at online gig with fellow Beatle McCartney

Hoping for a theater bailout? Better head to London.

Public art installation by Don Porcaro now on view at Pelham Art Center

Photorealism In Gaming As An Art Form

How The Brain Makes Articles Go Viral?




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez
Writer: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Attorneys
Truck Accident Attorneys
Accident Attorneys
Houston Dentist
Abogado de accidentes
สล็อต
สล็อตเว็บตรง
Motorcycle Accident Lawyer

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site Parroquia Natividad del Señor
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful