Eugene Brunozzi Jr.?s sculpted face, with its high forehead, steady gaze and square jaw, belonged on an antique Roman coin. in fact, for a while the certified public accountant collected coins.
But, by the 1970s he began purchasing the work of Western Pennsylvania artists, including Scalp Level School painters who captured the landscape of the region he cherished. Rounding out his diverse collection were rare clocks as well as ambrotypes, daguerreotypes and tintypes.
Mr. Brunozzi of Mt. Lebanon died at age 62 on Aug. 14, 2010. Part of his estate, nearly 300 lots, will be auctioned Sept. 24 at Concept Art Gallery in Regent Square.
A gregarious guy who enjoyed sharing his knowledge with other collectors, his quest for beauty turned road trips into meandering odysseys because of frequent forays into antique shops.
?A seven-hour drive turned into a two-day trip,? said his widow, Marcia Paradis, also a CPA. once, she recalled, he fished a piece of etched glass out of a trash heap in Paris, then carried it all over Europe before bringing it home.
Blond and blue-eyed, mr. Brunozzi rarely wore a suit and tie. he favored shirts, sweaters and casual slacks. on most Thursday evenings, he arrived at Concept Art Gallery laden with bags of hot dogs and french fries from Oakland?s Original Hot Dog Shop, where he had stopped to pick up the weekly payroll as part of his CPA duties.
So Pittsburgh ?So Pittsburgh? is an occasional series on people, places and phenomena that perfectly suit Western Pennsylvania. story suggestions should go to Kevin Kirkland at or 34 Blvd. of the Allies, Pittsburgh PA 15222
At Concept, he volunteered to help gallery owner Sam Berkovitz wrap paintings for shipping, do research on art, move furniture and dispense accounting advice. often, he invited mr. Berkovitz out to his gray Envoy, then popped open the trunk to show off his latest find.
?He showed up with a fabulous Henry Koerner? titled ?The Fence Between Us,? mr. Berkovitz recalled.
Mr. Brunozzi gathered much of his collection before the Internet leveled the auction house playing field, an era when more deals could be found by intrepid people like himself. Later, he spent hours searching for finds on eBay and also read widely to learn more about artists, clockmakers and photographers.
The eldest of five children, mr. Brunozzi had an Italian father who worked as a cement finisher and a Czechoslovakian mother who cleaned at Kane hospital, one of the Allegheny County public nursing homes. he grew up on Chicken Hill in the West End, in an agricultural neighborhood called Ridgemont. he was 10 years old when Chicken Hill became the scene of a famous 1959 gun battle between bank robber Joe Gaito and his accomplice against 200 police officers.
A Langley High School graduate, mr. Brunozzi enlisted in the Army during the 1960s, serving in Vietnam before returning to civilian life in 1968. he attended officer candidate school while earning an accounting degree at Duquesne University. Entering the Army Reserves as a second lieutenant, he rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel.
Gradually, mr. Brunozzi?s collection filled three homes in the South Hills and his Washington Road office in Mt. Lebanon. His love for history fueled his pursuit of landscapes by William Coventry Wall, rural scenes by Malcolm Parcell and historical subjects by Nat Youngblood. eight still lifes by A.F. King dominated an entire wall in his dining room.
Like many collectors, he could be close-mouthed.
?He put a cap on how much information he would give you until he hunted the prey and brought it down,? mr. Berkovitz said.
Occasionally, he lent some of his paintings to the Westmoreland Museum of American Art in Greensburg. Barbara Jones, the museum?s chief curator, met him at a Concept Gallery auction in 1996 when she was the unsuccessful bidder for a Roy Hilton canvas called ?Workers Entering the Mill,? which mr. Brunozzi bought.
?I really, really wanted that piece. he went after things that he liked so his collection is quite diverse, all the way from abstraction to hyper realism,? Ms. Jones said, adding that she would love to acquire the Hilton painting for the museum?s ?scenes of industry? collection.
During annual vacations at Sackets Harbor, N.Y., on Lake Ontario, where his wife?s family owned a home, mr. Brunozzi also kept an eye out for art and antique bargains.
?No auction was ever too unusual for him,? said his lifelong friend and client, Tom Gravina, recalling that during a Sackets Harbor auction, his buddy bought an old doctor?s buggy and a buck board, then stored it in his in-laws? barn for 20 years.
Mr. Brunozzi?s office, located above a Vocelli pizza shop on Washington Road, was like an old-fashioned barber shop where clients came by to discuss the best and the worst of the Pirates and Steelers.
?His clients became very close friends. the office would almost always be entertaining some client. it never bothered him to work 15 or 16 hours a day or work through the night at tax season,? mr. Gravina said.
On weekends, mr. Brunozzi educated the next generation of treasure hunters. His granddaughter, Alexandra Chormanski, 10, and grandson, Anthony Chormanski, 8, accompanied him on his visits to Trader Jack?s Flea Market in Bridgeville and other hunting grounds.
?He turned them on to yard sales and flea markets,? Mrs. Paradis said.
Eugene Brunozzi Jr.?s sculpted face, with its high forehead, steady gaze and square jaw, belonged on an antique Roman coin. in fact, for awhile the certified public accountant collected coins.
But, by the 1970s he began purchasing the work of Western Pennsylvania artists, including Scalp Level School painters who captured the landscape of the region he cherished. Rounding out his diverse collection were rare clocks as well as ambrotypes, daguerreotypes and tintypes.
Mr. Brunozzi of Mt. Lebanon died at age 62 on Aug. 14, 2010. Part of his estate, nearly 300 lots, will be auctioned Sept. 24, at Concept Art Gallery in Regent Square.
A gregarious guy who enjoyed sharing his knowledge with other collectors, his quest for beauty turned road trips into meandering odysseys because of frequent forays into antique shops.
?A seven-hour drive turned into a two-day trip,? said his widow, Marcia Paradis, also a CPA. once, she recalled, he fished a piece of etched glass out of a trash heap in Paris, then carried it all over Europe before bringing it home.
Blond and blue-eyed, mr. Brunozzi almost never a suit and tie. he favored shirts, sweaters and casual slacks. on most Thursday evenings, he arrived at Concept Art Gallery laden with bags of hot dogs and French fries from Oakland?s Original Hot Dog Shop,where he had stopped to pick up the weekly payroll as part of his CPA duties.
At Concept, he volunteered to help gallery owner Sam Berkovitz wrap paintings for shipping, do research on art, move furniture and dispense accounting advice. often, he invited mr. Berkovitz out to his gray Envoy, then popped open the trunk to show off his latest find.
?He showed up with a fabulous Henry Koerner? titled ?The Fence Between Us,? mr. Berkovitz recalled.
Mr. Brunozzi gathered much of his collection before the Internet leveled the auction house playing field, an era when more deals could be found by intrepid people like himself. Later, he spent hours searching for finds on eBay and also read widely to learn more about artists, clockmakers and photographers.
The eldest of five children, mr. Brunozzi had an Italian father who worked as a cement finisher and a Czechoslovakian mother, who cleaned at a Kane hospital, one of the Allegheny County public nursing homes. he grew up on Chicken Hill in the West End, an agricultural neighborhood called Ridgemont. he was 10 years old when Chicken Hill became the scene of a famous 1959 gun battle between bank robber Joe Gaito and his accomplice against 200 police officers.
A Langley High School graduate, mr. Brunozzi enlisted in the Army during the 1960s, serving in Vietnam before returning to civilian life in 1968. he attended officer candidate school while earning an accounting degree at Duquesne University. Entering the Army Reserves as a second lieutenant, he rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
Gradually, mr. Brunozzi?s collection filled three homes in the South Hills and his Washington Road office in Mt. Lebanon. His love for history fueled his pursuit of landscapes by William Coventry Wall, rural scenes by Malcolm Parcell and historical subjects by Nat Youngblood. eight still lifes by A.F. King dominated an entire wall in his dining room.
Like many collectors, he could be close-mouthed.
?He put a cap on how much information he would give you until he hunted the prey and brought it down,? mr. Berkovitz said.
Occasionally, he lent some of his paintings to the Westmoreland Museum of American Art in Greensburg. Barbara Jones, the museum?s chief curator, met him at a Concept Gallery auction in 1996 when she was the unsuccessful bidder for a Roy Hilton canvas called ?Workers Entering the Mill,? which mr. Brunozzi bought.
?I really, really wanted that piece. he went after things that he liked so his collection is quite diverse, all the way from abstraction to hyper realism,? Ms. Jones said, adding that she would love to acquire the Hilton painting for the museum?s ?scenes of industry? collection.
During annual vacations at Sackets Harbor, N.Y. on Lake Ontario, where his wife?s family owned a home, mr. Brunozzi also kept an eye out for art and antique bargains.
?No auction was ever too unusual for him,? said his lifelong friend and client, Tom Gravina, recalling that during a Sackets Harbor auction, his buddy bought an old doctor?s buggy and a buck board, then stored it in his in-laws? barn for 20 years.
Mr. Brunozzi?s office, located above a Vocelli pizza shop on Washington Road, was like an old-fashioned barber shop where clients came by to discuss the best and the worst of the Pirates and Steelers.
?His clients became very close friends. the office would almost always be entertaining some client. it never bothered him to work 15 or 16 hours a day or work through the night at tax season,? mr. Gravina said.
On weekends, mr. Brunozzi educated the next generation of treasure hunters. His granddaughter, Alexandra Chormanski, 10, and grandson, Anthony Chormanski, 8, accompanied him on his visits to Trader Jack?s Flea Market in Bridgeville and other hunting grounds.
?He turned them on to yard sales and flea markets,? Mrs. Paradis said.
first published on September 3, 2011 at 12:00 am
Tags: high forehead, trash heap, frequent forays, roman coincasper fast and furious free online games barbie games luke bryan second life indianapolis star
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