Monmouth Museum to Celebrate 50th Anniversary in Style

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LINCROFT – Maestro Silvano Campeggi will be celebrating with the Monmouth Museum as it hosts a 50thAnniversary Circle of Gold Gala on Saturday, Oct. 19, at the Navesink Country Club.

Maestro Silvano Campeggi
Maestro Silvano Campeggi

Born and currently living in Florence, Italy, Campeggi is one of cinema’s premier poster artists. His iconic images are associated with the golden era of Hollywood and Campeggi is generally regarded as the most important graphic artist and poster designer in the history of American cinema.
Campeggi started creating movie posters after World War II, working with Hollywood directors and Cinecitta Studios in Rome, going back and forth to the United States with his sketchpad and paints and helping to build an Italian audience for American films.
Between 1945 and 1979, he designed and produced the poster and advertising graphics for more than 3,000 films – 2,500 of them for American movies, working not only under contract with the MGM studios, but also with Warner Bros., Universal, Dear Film, Rank, RKO, Columbia, and Fox.
He designed the posters for 64 Oscar winning films including: Gone with the Wind and Casablanca. He also designed posters for Ben Hur, West Side Story, Bambi, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, An American in Paris, Exodus, Butterfield 8, Singing in the Rain and hundreds of others.
Many of his images of Hollywood actresses are instantly recognizable: Liza Minnelli in derby hat and black stockings, Elizabeth Taylor, Lauren Bacall in beret and cape, Ava Gardner, Rita Hayworth, and Sophia Loren. Equally, he portrayed the male stars: Marlon Brando astride his motorcycle as The Wild One, a bare-chested James Dean, John Wayne neckerchief and cowboy hat, Humphrey Bogart in his white dinner jacket and Clark Gable holding Vivien Leigh in a passionate embrace while Atlanta burned in the background.
In 2000 he received Italy’s most prestigious award Florino D’Oro. In 2005, the Two River Film Festival honored Campeggi with the Masters Award for Excel­lence. In October, he is being honored at Syracuse Univer­sity and receiving the school’s Lifetime Achieve­ment Award.
The evening will feature dancing to the music of Tim McLoone and the Shirley’s. Joining him at the Circle of Gold Gala also will be Taphy Harcsar and her husband Eugene of Rumson. Taphy, a former museum trustee, is co-chair of the gala with board vice chairman, Daniel J. Fenski II.
The special honoree of the evening will be the Junior League of Monmouth County. The Junior League has been an integral part of the founding and development of the museum and their generous support enabled the museum to go from an idea to a reality.
Since its founding in 1963 as a “Museum of Ideas,” the Monmouth Museum has grown to become one of the largest private museums in New Jersey, with four distinctive galleries where visitors can explore changing exhibitions and programs on art, science and history. Throughout the history of the museum, the mission has stayed the same: to provide a destination for creative expression and lifelong learning opportunities to the diverse community it serves.
The Monmouth Museum, a private, nonprofit organization, is located at 765 Newman Springs Road. For hours and additional information, please call the museum at 732-747-2266, or visit www.monmouthmuseum.org.