Fasanella, Ralph

Ralph Fasanella, born September 7, 1914, was a self-taught painter whose large, detailed works depict urban working life. The child of Italian immigrants, Fasanella was born and raised in the Bronx and later became a member of United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) Local 1227 while working as a machinist in Brooklyn. Fasanella also fought in the Spanish Civil War with the Abraham Lincoln Brigade and after returning from the war began to work as a union organizer for the UE. Fasanella died on December 18, 1997.

From the guide to the Ralph Fasanella Papers and Photographs, 1937-1993, (Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archive)