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Raymond Simboli was born in Pescina, Italy, in 1894, and emigrated to
Pittsburgh with his parents in 1901.
He was the first of the eight children of Peter and Angelina
Simboli. His father, Peter Simboli was also a
painter, carver and decorator of international repute. Raymond Simboli
studied painting as a child, and
also assisted his artist-father, a muralist in the city of
Pittsburgh. They worked on a number of murals
in Pittsburgh Theatres and Churches, and also the Tuscarawas court
house in New Philadelphia.
Simboli was educated at Peabody High, Pittsburgh, and then Carnegie
Tech, where he studied under
Arthur Watson Sparks in the Department of Painting, Design and
Sculpture. He was awarded the
Hawthorne Scholarship in 1917, and the Tiffany Foundation Fellowship
in 1919.
He served as professor of painting and design in the School of
Architecture at Carnegie Institute of
Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University) for 42 years
(1920-1962). Simboli was appointed upon his
return from service, and prior to the completion of his own academic
work. Upon retirement in 1962,
Simboli had attained the post of Assistant Professor.
Simboli also taught painting and drawing intermittently at Carnegie
Institute Adult School, the Pittsburgh
Art Institute, the Ad Art School of Technology, the Carnegie Museum
(including children's classes),
Seton Hill College, and throughout the greater Pittsburgh area
(including clubs at Beaver and
Greensburg). Simboli was also teaching an adult art class at the
Westmoreland Museum of Art in
Greensburg at the time of his death. From 1943, he conducted classes
at his own school, the Simboli
school of Art in East Liberty.
He was an active member of the Pittsburgh art scene, winning several
awards at the Associated Artists
of Pittsburgh's
annual exhibitions, and serving as president of the association
in 1951. Simboli was also
the initial president of the Pittsburgh Watercolor Society in 1946.
Raymond Simboli was recognized with the Pittsburgh Arts and Craft
Center Artist of the Year award in
1955, the most distinguished award for art in the Pittsburgh region,
honoring outstanding art
achievement over a long period.
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