Antonio Masi

Upon his arrival in New York, Masi was deeply drawn by the beauty of the city’s iconic bridges, but most especially the Queensboro. And it wasn’t long before he knew that one day he would be an artist who would paint bridges. Masi attended the High School of Industrial Art, majored in illustration, and was graduated in 1958. Antonio then received a full art scholarship to the School of Visual Arts and was graduated with honors in 1961.

Masi began his professional career as a commercial artist for numerous city publications and art agencies. In 1966, Antonio returned to his high school alma mater to teach art. In 1973, he was named Art Chairperson. He also enrolled in CUNY and received a BA in the History of Art in 1975.

For almost ten years, Masi has focused almost exclusively on painting NYC’s bridges, starting with the Queensboro. To date, he has completed more than 100 bridge paintings and named the series, “Bridgescapes.” 

Masi is a watercolorist, but his paintings do not look like watercolor paintings. Watercolor, being a thin medium, organically allows expression of the most delicate subjects, but Masi has developed a novel way to use watercolor thickly, in the same way that others use oils thickly. It is an approach that produces exceptional results.  Masi’s unique use of watercolor allows him to capture each bridge’s mass, power, and delicacy.

Masi is now the President of the American Watercolor Society.