Vincent Figliola

Vincent N. Figliola was born in 1936 in Harrison, New York. According to a biography published by the Salmagundi Club, his education included graduation from Harrison High School in New York, a Fine Arts program at Temple University in Philadelphia leading to a BFA, time at New York University's film school, and a BA in American History from Columbia University; exact years for these credentials are not documented, and this education history rests on a single available source. The same biography notes that while at Temple he was awarded a Salvador Dali drawing competition prize and offered an apprenticeship in Spain.

Figliola has worked as a realist painter in oil and graphite, describing his practice, per a profile in Realism Today, as one built with "tiny brushes as those used in the Renaissance." He is based in Las Cruces, New Mexico, and his own studio site describes him as an Art Renewal Center Living Master. As of 16 July 2026, no obituary, gallery memorial notice, or major art press report of his death could be located, and his own site continues to describe him in the present tense as an active painter.

Secondary biographical sources, including the Art Renewal Center and Realism Today, describe Figliola in laudatory terms, including a characterization of him as an artist who "paints the Renaissance and makes it now" and a claim that critic Leo Castelli once predicted his importance ahead of a BBC interview. Neither of these statements could be traced to a dated, verifiable primary publication with a named critic and outlet, so they are noted here as circulating attributions rather than confirmed critical quotations. What is documented with more confidence is his standing within realist painting societies: he has been a selected entrant in the Oil Painters of America's national exhibitions in 2021 and 2022, and his work has appeared in group and juried shows connected to institutions including the El Paso Museum of Art, the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago, and the Art Institute of Chicago, though these appearances are documented as exhibition history rather than as confirmed permanent collection holdings.

The only auction result for Figliola confirmed across the available research is Crossing II: Border Paintings, reported by AuctionDaily as achieving USD 140,000 at a Sotheby's Contemporary Realism sale in New York, slightly below its low estimate. The exact calendar date of that sale could not be confirmed. Separately, the Art Renewal Center has been reported, via Fine Art Connoisseur, to have placed a group of works, including one by Figliola, into a Sotheby's "Contemporary: Discoveries" sale; whether this refers to the same transaction as Crossing II or a separate one is not clear from the available sources. The artist's own site also references a Sotheby's New York purchase noted at USD 160,000, but it is not clear from that source whether this reflects a public auction result, a private sale, or an asking estimate, and no date is given, so it is treated here as unconfirmed rather than as a second auction record.

Figliola's public market record is limited to a single confirmed auction result, so any pricing conclusion should be treated as provisional rather than as evidence of an established trend. No catalogue raisonne or certificate-of-authenticity program has been identified, and current gallery representation for the artist could not be confirmed as of this writing; the Art Renewal Center biography lists a number of galleries associated with his career, but in past-tense, exhibition-style language rather than as a current roster. Similarly, while his work has been shown in connection with several museums, no source confirms that any of these are permanent collection holdings rather than loans or exhibition placements. Collectors considering work by this artist should verify current representation, provenance, and any auction comparables directly, ideally through the artist's own studio.