Mario Busoni was born in Berlin, Germany, at the beginning of World War II. His family emigrated to the United States in 1939, and he grew up in New York City. His father, Rafaello Busoni, was a children’s book illustrator. Mario’s early interest in and encyclopedic knowledge of sailing ships led him to undertake the construction of shipbuilders’ half models, some of which were displayed on the walls of Sandolino’s, a well-known café on Barrow Street in Greenwich Village, in the 1960s.
He supported himself by working as a sandal maker at Allan Block’s Sandal Shop on West Fourth Street, where folk musicians famously gathered on Friday nights to share their music. At this time, Mario also became interested in constructing musical instruments, and he subsequently built several violins and a lute.
His appreciation and understanding of three-dimensional form and the relationship of outer shape to inner content led to his interest in sculpting in clay and wax. His first bronze figurative sculpture was displayed in the Annual Exhibit at the National Academy of Design in 1988.
Mario Busoni was born in Berlin, Germany, at the beginning of World War II. His family emigrated to the United States in 1939, and he grew up in New York City. His father, Rafaello Busoni, was a children’s book illustrator. Mario’s early interest in and encyclopedic knowledge of sailing ships led him to undertake the construction of shipbuilders’ half models, some of which were displayed on the walls of Sandolino’s, a well-known café on Barrow Street in Greenwich Village, in the 1960s.
He supported himself by working as a sandal maker at Allan Block’s Sandal Shop on West Fourth Street, where folk musicians famously gathered on Friday nights to share their music. At this time, Mario also became interested in constructing musical instruments, and he subsequently built several violins and a lute.
His appreciation and understanding of three-dimensional form and the relationship of outer shape to inner content led to his interest in sculpting in clay and wax. His first bronze figurative sculpture was displayed in the Annual Exhibit at the National Academy of Design in 1988.