Our ode to the luminous life of Vito Giallo, whose friendship was a joy, whose memory is an inspiration.
An ode to the luminous life of a quintessential New Yorker. Vito Giallo, artist, illustrator and antiques dealer, was Andy Warhol’s first apprentice and the first to give Warhol a show in 1954. Vito's antiques shop across from the Carlyle at 966 Madison Avenue was a destination for Mark Rothko, André Leon Talley, Greta Garbo, Robert Mapplethorpe, Jackie Kennedy, and Andy - who visited every day.
In 1969, Vito came into possession of a trunk full of gems, and other than selling a few to Andy, he saved them since then. 53 years later, we were so proud to present our first chapter of Catbird x Vito's Gems, a collection of limited edition and one-of-a-kind jewels inspired by Vito’s New York, nights at the ballet, Joseph Cornell boxes, antiquities, Venetian mirrors, his erstwhile shop on Madison Ave, an end-of-day martini at Bemelmans Bar, museum vitrines, and the arc that connects the past to the present.
"I am pleased to know that my gems will continue to be treasured and valued and live on. Objects have personalities, and when I first saw them littered in the apartment, they felt like survivors to me."
