Piccirilli [key], family of Italian-American marble cutters and sculptors. In 1888, the father and six sons, all sculptors, migrated from Italy and established a highly successful workshop in New York City. Specializing in cutting large works in stone from smaller models, they enlarged and cut figures for such leading American sculptors as MacMonnies, Saint-Gaudens, and D. C. French. French's figure of Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C., is the most notable of these.
Of the sons, Attilio and Furio achieved individual fame as sculptors. Attilio Piccirilli, 1866–1945, executed allegorical figures for the Maine monument in Columbus Circle, New York City, and for the north pediment of the Wisconsin state capitol building, Madison. Other works include numerous fauns and nymphs. Furio Piccirilli, 1868–1949, is best known for his groups for the Court of the Seasons for the San Francisco Panama-Pacific Exposition, and for his execution of the entire sculptural decoration of the house of the provincial legislature in Winnipeg, Man., Canada.
See biography of A. Piccirilli by J. V. Lombardo (1944).
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