I'm An American -- Attilio Piccirilli

Recorded Sound | Digitized | RG Number: RG-91.0031

Overview

Description: On June 15, 1940, Attilio Piccirilli spoke with Marshall E. Dimock, Second Assistant Secretary of Labor, on the NBC radio broadcast about being a naturalized citizen for 50 years. Piccirilli tells Dimock he forgot he was born abroad. He confesses he feels like a foreigner in his birth country because he thinks and speaks like an American. Attilio Piccirilli shares with Dimock his first thoughts of America as his boat docked in the harbor. He explains why had to become an American immediately and why he will forever be tied to the land. Attilio Piccirilli says the greatest gift America has given him was not money but opportunity for joy.

Attilio Piccirilli was born on May 16, 1866 in Massa-Carrara, Italy. In 1888, he moved to New York City with this family. The six Piccirilli brothers established a residence and sculpture studio in the Bronx. The workroom became an important center for American art hosting visitors like President Roosevelt, Enrico Caruso, and John D. Rockefeller. Attilio and his five brothers were master sculptors and marble carvers. Many artists brought their casts to the studio to be cut by the family. Original Piccirilli sculptures can be found throughout the country, including the carving of Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial. Attilio’s works include the Main Monument in Central Park, the Firemen's Monument on Riverside Drive in New York, the Police Memorial Statue at the NYPD Headquarters, and the Monument to Guglielmo Marconi in Washington D.C. He co-founded the Leonardo da Vinci Art School in Manhattan which offered art education to thousands from 1923 to 1940.
Date: Broadcast: 1940 June 15
Format: WAV

Physical Details

Language: English
Genre/Form: Radio broadcasts.

Rights & Restrictions

Conditions on Access: This archival media can only be accessed in a Museum reading room or other on-campus viewing stations.
Copyright: NBC Universal
Conditions on Use: Contact NBC Universal at www.nbcuniarchives.com for permission to duplicate and use this film or sound recording.

Keywords & Subjects

Topical Term: Artists. Ethnicity--United States. Immigrants--Cultural assimilation--United States. Immigrants--Interviews. Immigrants--United States. Italian Americans. Sculptors.
Geographic Name: United States.
Personal Name: Piccirilli, Attilio, 1866-1945. Dimock, Marshall Edward, 1903-1991.

Administrative Notes

Legal Status: In process
Recorded Sound Provenance: The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum purchased digital copies of these sound recordings from the Library of Congress in March 2018.
Recorded Sound Notes: More information about Attilio Piccirilli:
http://www.lehman.edu/academics/arts-humanities/piccirilli/
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7404338/attilio-piccirilli
http://bronze-gallery.com/sculptors/artist.cfm?sculptorID=96

More information about I’M AN AMERICAN:
https://www.uscis.gov/history-and-genealogy/our-history/historians-mailbox/im-american
https://www.npr.org/2017/10/16/557338355/im-an-american-radio-show-promoted-inclusion-before-world-war-ii
Recorded Sound Source: Library of Congress - Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division (MBRS)

Record last modified:: 2024-02-21 07:27:19
This page:: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn615682

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Also in "I'm An American" NBC radio broadcasts

I’M AN AMERICAN premiered in 1940 on the eve of WWII. The NBC radio broadcast was spearheaded by the Immigration and Naturalization Service of the U.S. Department of Labor to foster a “deeper consciousness of the privileges and responsibilities of citizenship and more tolerance for fellow american of all birthplaces”. The weekly program featured distinguished foreign-born citizens discussing their naturalization process, the meaning of “democracy” and reminding all Americans of the value/privilege of U.S. citizenship. Sound recordings of I’M AN AMERICAN are available from the NBC Radio Collection in the Library of Congress.

Date: 1940-1944

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I'm An American -- Attilio Piccirilli

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