Landscape, Mural, Portrait and Still Life Painter. Born in Potenza, Italy, he studied art in Italy and immigrated to Brooklyn, New York in 1911 when he was 8 years old. He was one of 10 children, he worked late at night delivering telegrams allowing him to spend his days studying to be an artist. He studied at the Mechanics Institute in New York City.
He spent 5 years drawing in charcoal and pencil before ever evolving to a paint brush. He became the protégé of internationally known artist John B. Smeraldi, who brought the young Daraio to California in 1925 as an assistant to help decorate such famous landmarks in Los Angeles as the Biltmore Hotel, and Victor Hugo Restaurant, but it was his beautiful church works which would bring him the most fame... among them are murals at the St. Nicholas Christian Orthodox Cathedral in Los Angeles, the Temple of Israel, the Old Mission Plaza Church in Los Angeles, St. Anne's Hospital's Chapel, Queen of Angels Hospital and the St. Syrian Orthodox Greek Church in San Diego.
A. H. Giannini, founder of the Bank of America, met the young artist and had him paint Pompeiian and Renaissance murals in the banker's Holmby Hills mansion. Daraio painted the rooms one at a time – a job that kept him occupied for six years at the home. Giannini then introduced him to movie mogul Samuel Goldwyn and began to work in the motion picture industry as a scenic artist for the next 22 years. He painted backdrops and did scenic paintings for the movies. He worked on such cinematic epics as the original "The Ten Commandments," "Marco Polo" and "Cleopatra."
He never stopped painting on canvas, however and he was noted for his meticulous realist works. He was not a prolific artist, but spent months on a single canvas to bring each work to perfection. He showed in Laguna Beach, Denver Museum, Los Angeles Museum of Art (where he won prizes), California Legion of Honor, Pacific Coast Club (Long Beach) and Bowman-Mann Gallery (Beverly Hills). He also travelled to Europe where he assisted in the restoration of old masters.
At age 77, he painted the murals at the St. George Greek Orthodox Church in Fresno. His image of Moses and the Ten Commandments is 30 feet high and 24 feet wide. The figure of Moses stands 9 feet alone.
He was president of the California Art Club from 1949 to 1950. He died in his rural Palm Springs home at the age of 90.
He spent 5 years drawing in charcoal and pencil before ever evolving to a paint brush. He became the protégé of internationally known artist John B. Smeraldi, who brought the young Daraio to California in 1925 as an assistant to help decorate such famous landmarks in Los Angeles as the Biltmore Hotel, and Victor Hugo Restaurant, but it was his beautiful church works which would bring him the most fame... among them are murals at the St. Nicholas Christian Orthodox Cathedral in Los Angeles, the Temple of Israel, the Old Mission Plaza Church in Los Angeles, St. Anne's Hospital's Chapel, Queen of Angels Hospital and the St. Syrian Orthodox Greek Church in San Diego.
A. H. Giannini, founder of the Bank of America, met the young artist and had him paint Pompeiian and Renaissance murals in the banker's Holmby Hills mansion. Daraio painted the rooms one at a time – a job that kept him occupied for six years at the home. Giannini then introduced him to movie mogul Samuel Goldwyn and began to work in the motion picture industry as a scenic artist for the next 22 years. He painted backdrops and did scenic paintings for the movies. He worked on such cinematic epics as the original "The Ten Commandments," "Marco Polo" and "Cleopatra."
He never stopped painting on canvas, however and he was noted for his meticulous realist works. He was not a prolific artist, but spent months on a single canvas to bring each work to perfection. He showed in Laguna Beach, Denver Museum, Los Angeles Museum of Art (where he won prizes), California Legion of Honor, Pacific Coast Club (Long Beach) and Bowman-Mann Gallery (Beverly Hills). He also travelled to Europe where he assisted in the restoration of old masters.
At age 77, he painted the murals at the St. George Greek Orthodox Church in Fresno. His image of Moses and the Ten Commandments is 30 feet high and 24 feet wide. The figure of Moses stands 9 feet alone.
He was president of the California Art Club from 1949 to 1950. He died in his rural Palm Springs home at the age of 90.
Landscape, Mural, Portrait and Still Life Painter. Born in Potenza, Italy, he studied art in Italy and immigrated to Brooklyn, New York in 1911 when he was 8 years old. He was one of 10 children, he worked late at night delivering telegrams allowing him to spend his days studying to be an artist. He studied at the Mechanics Institute in New York City.
He spent 5 years drawing in charcoal and pencil before ever evolving to a paint brush. He became the protégé of internationally known artist John B. Smeraldi, who brought the young Daraio to California in 1925 as an assistant to help decorate such famous landmarks in Los Angeles as the Biltmore Hotel, and Victor Hugo Restaurant, but it was his beautiful church works which would bring him the most fame... among them are murals at the St. Nicholas Christian Orthodox Cathedral in Los Angeles, the Temple of Israel, the Old Mission Plaza Church in Los Angeles, St. Anne's Hospital's Chapel, Queen of Angels Hospital and the St. Syrian Orthodox Greek Church in San Diego.
A. H. Giannini, founder of the Bank of America, met the young artist and had him paint Pompeiian and Renaissance murals in the banker's Holmby Hills mansion. Daraio painted the rooms one at a time – a job that kept him occupied for six years at the home. Giannini then introduced him to movie mogul Samuel Goldwyn and began to work in the motion picture industry as a scenic artist for the next 22 years. He painted backdrops and did scenic paintings for the movies. He worked on such cinematic epics as the original "The Ten Commandments," "Marco Polo" and "Cleopatra."
He never stopped painting on canvas, however and he was noted for his meticulous realist works. He was not a prolific artist, but spent months on a single canvas to bring each work to perfection. He showed in Laguna Beach, Denver Museum, Los Angeles Museum of Art (where he won prizes), California Legion of Honor, Pacific Coast Club (Long Beach) and Bowman-Mann Gallery (Beverly Hills). He also travelled to Europe where he assisted in the restoration of old masters.
At age 77, he painted the murals at the St. George Greek Orthodox Church in Fresno. His image of Moses and the Ten Commandments is 30 feet high and 24 feet wide. The figure of Moses stands 9 feet alone.
He was president of the California Art Club from 1949 to 1950. He died in his rural Palm Springs home at the age of 90.
He spent 5 years drawing in charcoal and pencil before ever evolving to a paint brush. He became the protégé of internationally known artist John B. Smeraldi, who brought the young Daraio to California in 1925 as an assistant to help decorate such famous landmarks in Los Angeles as the Biltmore Hotel, and Victor Hugo Restaurant, but it was his beautiful church works which would bring him the most fame... among them are murals at the St. Nicholas Christian Orthodox Cathedral in Los Angeles, the Temple of Israel, the Old Mission Plaza Church in Los Angeles, St. Anne's Hospital's Chapel, Queen of Angels Hospital and the St. Syrian Orthodox Greek Church in San Diego.
A. H. Giannini, founder of the Bank of America, met the young artist and had him paint Pompeiian and Renaissance murals in the banker's Holmby Hills mansion. Daraio painted the rooms one at a time – a job that kept him occupied for six years at the home. Giannini then introduced him to movie mogul Samuel Goldwyn and began to work in the motion picture industry as a scenic artist for the next 22 years. He painted backdrops and did scenic paintings for the movies. He worked on such cinematic epics as the original "The Ten Commandments," "Marco Polo" and "Cleopatra."
He never stopped painting on canvas, however and he was noted for his meticulous realist works. He was not a prolific artist, but spent months on a single canvas to bring each work to perfection. He showed in Laguna Beach, Denver Museum, Los Angeles Museum of Art (where he won prizes), California Legion of Honor, Pacific Coast Club (Long Beach) and Bowman-Mann Gallery (Beverly Hills). He also travelled to Europe where he assisted in the restoration of old masters.
At age 77, he painted the murals at the St. George Greek Orthodox Church in Fresno. His image of Moses and the Ten Commandments is 30 feet high and 24 feet wide. The figure of Moses stands 9 feet alone.
He was president of the California Art Club from 1949 to 1950. He died in his rural Palm Springs home at the age of 90.
