Paolo Guiffre (American/New Orleans, 1930-1998), "Mercury Rising", oil on canvas, signed "Paolo" and dated "'66 Chicago" lower right, titled and dated with label en verso, 50 in. x 36 in. E1200/1800 Artist Paolo Guiffre, known as "Paolo" was born in New York in 1930 to Italian immigrants. According to the family, in his early teens Paolo attended the National Academy of Design in New York where he won the Gold Medal and other awards. Around this time he met and studied under Reginald Marsh and John Koch. A lifelong friendship soondeveloped between Paolo and John Koch. Upon leaving the National Academy, he moved to Rome where he apprenticed with the noted artist Piero Donati, and exhibited at Galleria Avanti. While in Rome, he began a flamenco dancing career that lasted 25 years or more. A portrait of Paolo as a flamenco dancer appears in John Koch's painting"Dancing Faun with Flowers," which is being offered in this auction. Paolo danced with Carmen Amaya, considered by many to be the Queen of Flamenco. He also formed the Pablo Candelas Dance Company and spent most of the next 25 years dancing in Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Argentina, Greece, Switzerland, and the U. S. During this time, Paolo met and spent time with Hemingway in Cuba. Paolo's portrait of Eusedia Cosme, a noted Cuban poet and storyteller in the 1950s and 1960s, now hangs in the National Museum of Cuba. From 1960- 67 his work was exhibited in the Florentine Gallery in Chicago; in the70s he exhibited at the Circle Gallery in Chicago and the Gallery Paolo in New Orleans. He moved to New Orleans in the 1970s where he lived until his death in 1998. Articles on Paolo have appeared in Southern Living, New Orleans People, Arts of Paris, and other periodicals.