Henry Fusco was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. His parents were working class Italian immigrants who instilled an appreciation for the arts in their son at a young age, urging him to explore classical music and art throughout his early schooling. Some of his earliest training took place at the Cleveland Museum of Art participating in Saturday morning enrichment classes during the Depression.
Fusco enlisted in the Navy at the height of World War II at the age of seventeen. Stationed on Guam in the South Pacific, he put his classical music training to work, entertaining war weary troops by playing the flute as a member of a small Navy band. Throughout his tour of duty, he continued to sketch and draw, often illustrating letters sent home to family and friends.
Following the war, Fusco returned to the Cleveland area and enrolled at Kent State University. In defining his studies, he gave up a promising music career in favor of pursuing training in the visual arts, declaring himself an art major. It was at Kent where he met his wife of 60 years, Mavis, also an art major. Immediately following graduation, Fusco pursued a career teaching middle school art.
After several years of teaching, Fusco chose to change course and enter the corporate world, working in sales management for a large pharmaceutical company, then in advertising and promotion. In the early 1960s, Fusco returned to the classroom teaching middle and high school art. Within a decade, he moved into school administration, serving as a school principal and district assistant superintendent before his retirement.
During his years in the corporate and academic environments, Fusco continued to paint, honing his technique and developing his personal style. While earning a masters degree in education, with special emphasis in art, at Western State College in Colorado, he focused on painting buildings, streetscapes, and landscapes, taking particular interest in the architecture of 19th century Colorado mining towns. At home in Ohio, he was commissioned to create a series of paintings depicting the Jonathan Goldsmith houses in the area around Lake County.
Over time, Fusco’s subject matter has evolved from buildings, seascapes, and landscapes to figures, nudes, and still-lifes. His most current work is often on a scale larger than normally associated with typical watercolor paintings. Today, Fusco is noted for his impressionistic figurative work and rhythmic still-lifes. He has mastered transparent washes to create depth and richness reminiscent of the Midwest Regionalist painters of the Depression Era.
Fusco’s work has been exhibited in national competitions ranging from the Annual American Watercolor Society to the Canton Institute of Art. Over the past decade, he has been a fixture at the nationally recognized annual Butler Institute of American Art exhibit, receiving honors at several exhibitions. His work has been exhibited in individual and group shows throughout the Midwest including: Bratenahl Invitational Show, Fairmount Center for the Fine and Performing Arts, Cain Park Art Center, The Northville Art House, The Trumbull Art Gallery and Lake Erie Islands Historical Society. Fusco’s works are included in private collections in 44 states and several European countries. In 2006, the Butler Institute selected one of Fusco’s paintings for inclusion in their permanent collection; the painting can be viewed at www.butlerart.com.
Fusco currently works out of his studio in Northville, Michigan.
Fusco enlisted in the Navy at the height of World War II at the age of seventeen. Stationed on Guam in the South Pacific, he put his classical music training to work, entertaining war weary troops by playing the flute as a member of a small Navy band. Throughout his tour of duty, he continued to sketch and draw, often illustrating letters sent home to family and friends.
Following the war, Fusco returned to the Cleveland area and enrolled at Kent State University. In defining his studies, he gave up a promising music career in favor of pursuing training in the visual arts, declaring himself an art major. It was at Kent where he met his wife of 60 years, Mavis, also an art major. Immediately following graduation, Fusco pursued a career teaching middle school art.
After several years of teaching, Fusco chose to change course and enter the corporate world, working in sales management for a large pharmaceutical company, then in advertising and promotion. In the early 1960s, Fusco returned to the classroom teaching middle and high school art. Within a decade, he moved into school administration, serving as a school principal and district assistant superintendent before his retirement.
During his years in the corporate and academic environments, Fusco continued to paint, honing his technique and developing his personal style. While earning a masters degree in education, with special emphasis in art, at Western State College in Colorado, he focused on painting buildings, streetscapes, and landscapes, taking particular interest in the architecture of 19th century Colorado mining towns. At home in Ohio, he was commissioned to create a series of paintings depicting the Jonathan Goldsmith houses in the area around Lake County.
Over time, Fusco’s subject matter has evolved from buildings, seascapes, and landscapes to figures, nudes, and still-lifes. His most current work is often on a scale larger than normally associated with typical watercolor paintings. Today, Fusco is noted for his impressionistic figurative work and rhythmic still-lifes. He has mastered transparent washes to create depth and richness reminiscent of the Midwest Regionalist painters of the Depression Era.
Fusco’s work has been exhibited in national competitions ranging from the Annual American Watercolor Society to the Canton Institute of Art. Over the past decade, he has been a fixture at the nationally recognized annual Butler Institute of American Art exhibit, receiving honors at several exhibitions. His work has been exhibited in individual and group shows throughout the Midwest including: Bratenahl Invitational Show, Fairmount Center for the Fine and Performing Arts, Cain Park Art Center, The Northville Art House, The Trumbull Art Gallery and Lake Erie Islands Historical Society. Fusco’s works are included in private collections in 44 states and several European countries. In 2006, the Butler Institute selected one of Fusco’s paintings for inclusion in their permanent collection; the painting can be viewed at www.butlerart.com.
Fusco currently works out of his studio in Northville, Michigan.