Jasper D'Ambrosi

Jasper D'Ambrosi, son of Italian immigrants, was born and raised in Wilmington, California. He attended University of Southern California on a football scholarship where he studied painting and graduated cum laude. Out of college, D'Ambrosi worked nine years in the art department of Douglas Aircraft after which he founded and operated his own printing and design business while painting and sculpting part-time. In 1970, he sold his business to become a full time artist.

Jasper D'Ambrosi is well-known for the 'The Fallen Warrior', a companion piece to Arizona's Vietnam Veterans' Memorial which stands outside the state capital.

On 1 August 1986, Jasper died after a brief illness due to blood cell abnormalities suscepted to be caused by years of working toxic art materials. At the time of his death, he was about to begin the final clay model of 'Jacob's Ladder' -- a twenty foot high sculpture for the American Merchant Marine Veterans Memorial. His two sons, Marc and Michael D'Ambrosi, completed the sculpture shortly after Jasper's death. It is on public display today at Los Angeles Harbor on the corner of South Harbor Boulevard and West Sixth Street in San Pedro, California.

References

* Blue Coyote Gallery. [http://www.bluecoyotegallery.com/jdambrosi.html Short Biography and Artist Profile] . Retrieved September 11, 2006.