Mr. Robert William "Bob" Cimbalo

UTICA – Robert William “Bob” Cimbalo was born in Utica, NY on February 19, 1935, to Santo and Rose (Gigliardi) Cimbalo. Bob’s father was an ironworker, and Bob took up the trade when he graduated from T.R. Proctor High School, Class of 1954. Between 1955-57, Bob served in the US Army during the Korean War in the 73rd Tank Division as a Sergeant, First Class. Bob began his studies at the Mohawk Valley Technical School (now Mohawk Valley Community College) and his art training at Pratt University, graduating with Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Arts and Illustration in 1964. He was initially interested in sculpture, working in bronze and marble. Bob married fellow artist Mary Krulinski in 1971 and together they raised daughter Ona and son Santo. Bob treasured and was very supportive of his family, letting everyone choose their own paths without expectations of traditional roles. He had great pride in his children both in their accomplishments and as parents. He was delighted with all his grandchildren, lighting up in their presence. In 1964-65 he studied art and art history in Rome, Italy. While creating his own lithographs, he worked with one of the oldest printmaking families in Italy at the Roberto Bulla print shop, and with artist and writer Georgio de Chirico. Bob returned to Utica and taught art in the Roscoe Conkling School from 1965-67 while pursuing his Master of Fine Arts in Printmaking at Syracuse University. He graduated in 1968. Beginning in the mid-1960s, Bob was producing prints using techniques of woodcut, intaglio, silkscreen and lithography, continuing through the 1970s. In 1968, Bob was hired as an Instructor of Graphic Art at the Munson-Williams-Proctor School of Art (now the Munson). He developed the new Graphic Arts Center that opened in 1971, which included community and artist workspaces for woodcut and linocut, silkscreen, etching, dry point, engraving and lithography. Serving children, high school students, and adults, the center was considered the best equipped graphic arts center in Central New York. He continued in this position until 1979, when he was hired at Utica College (now Utica University). In 1971 Bob also began his first collaboration with Utica College professor of English Dr. Eugene Nassar for the limited-edition book East Utica (Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute, 1971). Printed by the Widtman Press, the book contained a prose poem by Nassar and five woodcuts by Bob, expressing memories of their Lebanese- and Italian-American experiences. Bob was a professor of Theater and Fine Arts in the Humanities Division. He became the Coordinator and Director of Fine Arts in 1985. In 1989, he founded the Utica College Television Station. He founded the Black Students Theater in 1990 at Utica College. He retired from teaching in 2000. Over his career, he also taught at the Kirkland Art Center in Clinton, NY, Mohawk Valley Community College, Pratt Institute, and Hamilton College. Throughout his 35-year career as an educator, Bob impacted and encouraged hundreds of students in the arts and humanities. In 1983-84, Bob created his masterful series of thirty-four drawings illustrating the cantos of Dante’s Inferno, rendered using black ink and crayon-wash. They were the result of a long research collaboration with Dr. Nassar, who also engaged Bob as a consultant to choose works for Nassar’s anthology Illustrations of Dante’s Inferno. Bob’s drawings were shown widely, including a 1985 tour to ten arts centers, universities and museums in New York State, and in 2019 at Utica’s own Other Side Gallery. The series is in the collection of the Cornell University Library, through the diligent efforts of Dr. Frank Bergmann of Utica University. Dr. Nassar also edited The Graphic Art of Robert Cimbalo (Utica College 2010). Bob also collaborated with many Italian-American authors, contributing illustrations to numerous books and publications. He was also a frequent contributor to the Chicago-based magazine Fra Noi. Continuing from the late 1970s, Bob was working variously in watercolor, oils, pencil, pastel and pen and ink. The “Kitchen Table Series” was one focus during this period, which he described as “the residue of life as seen chronologically on a family’s kitchen table.” He became known for depicting his own family life and Italian-American daily rituals and seasonal activities in paintings such as Corner Store, Pizza Frita Makers, Sausages in Oil, and Winter Fig Tree, and woodcuts and drawings of coffee roasters, expresso and spaghetti pots, and foodstuffs like pasta, beans and sausage. He also produced many landscapes, enjoying summer painting en plein air. Bob exhibited throughout New York State as well as New York City and Italy, and is the recipient of numerous prizes including the Calvatone Accademia d’Italia (1981) and the Premio d’Italia (1987). In addition to Cornell University, his work is in the collections of the Library of Congress, Pratt Institute, the State University of NY at Cortland, the Munson and in many private collections. Bob is listed in the Who’s Who of American Art, Who’s Who of America, the International Who’s Who of Contemporary Achievement, Who’s Who in Art International, and American Artists of Renown. Bob was a lifelong parishioner of St. Mary of Mount Carmel/Blessed Sacrament Church where he was a eucharistic minister. As a dedicated member of the church community, he stepped up to church maintenance and the restoration of statuary. Bob was always on the side of the underdog and offered his help to strangers and friends alike. He was known for treating people of all ethnic and racial backgrounds fairly and with respect, supporting their goals. He generously used his God-given talent as an artist for projects large or small, working pro bono. He had a deep love for his hometown of Utica, giving his time to organizations such as the Neighborhood Center, the Utica Citizens Finance Committee, and the Boy Scouts. Bob was a founding member of the Proctor Boys Club, a group of graduates of Proctor High School who raise funds for an annual Proctor Boys Club Scholarship. Bob was patriotic and always participated in Veteran’s Day’s commemorations. For the 60th anniversary of the World War II invasion of Normandy he painted 1944: Heroes of Normandy and reproduced it as a poster to raise funds for the Utica Red Cross. He was similarly moved after the attacks of September 11, 2001, and with donations from friends, created a memorial poster that sold for $9.11 to benefit the same Red Cross chapter. Bob was predeceased by his parents, his brothers Joseph and Gaetano, and his sister Arlene. He is survived by Mary; Ona and Zack Viola; Santo and Brooke (Gates) Cimbalo; grandchildren Santino, Natalia, Santo Jr., Sofia, and Samie, and nieces and nephews, among them special nephew Robert Lalli. He leaves numerous friends, many of whom were lifelong. The family wishes to extend their gratitude to Many Hearts Senior Day Care Program at RCIL for their care, compassion, and support to not only Bob, but his wife, Mary, and the family; and to the VA for helping Bob receive his rightly deserved benefits. Visitation will be held on Sunday, September 21, 2025, from 2:00-4:00 p.m., at the Eannace Funeral Home, Inc., 932 South St., corner of Hammond Ave. In lieu of floral offerings, memorial contributions in Robert’s honor may be made to Hospice and Palliative Care, Inc., online at https://hospicecareinc.org/donate-online/, the Abraham House online at https://www.theabrahamhouse.org/ways-to-support/donate/, or Feed Our Vets online at https://give.donationpay.org/feedourvets/donations/; envelopes will also be available at the funeral home. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend Robert’s Mass of Christian Burial and Celebration of Life, which will commence on Monday, September 22, 2025, at 10:00 a.m., at St. Mary of Mt. Carmel/Blessed Sacrament Parish, 648 Jay St. Military Honors will be conferred by the U.S. Army. Interment will take place in Calvary Cemetery. This tribute to Bob’s life was lovingly written by his family.

Mr. Robert William "Bob" Cimbalo

February 19, 1935 - September 10, 2025