Joseph Paul Di Gemma

Born in New York City in 1910, Joseph Paul Di Gemma studied art at both the Pratt Institute and the Art Students League, as well as earning a bachelor’s degree in art education from New York University, and a master’s degree from Queens College. He then went on to teach in the New York City public High School of Art and Design and was an instructor at the Art League of Long Island.

Known as the father of lumiprinting, a technique that combines traditional esthetic skills, drawing, photo and printing techniques, Di Gemma used his diverse artistic talent to champion this new form of art. Di Gemma’s book, Lumiprinting: A New Graphic Art, was published in 1942, and some of his engravings in which he used his newly developed technique reside in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum, the Astor-Lenox Collection, and the Smithsonian Institute.

A passage from the book:

“Yes, here is a book about Lumiprintin, that new graphic art which makes possible an endless number of effects with a minimum of equipment and at an astonishingly low cost – an art which can be utilized advantageously whether one is an amateur, a student, or a professional artist.”

As WWII commenced, Di Gemma served in the U.S. Coast Guard as a combat artist, sailing to the Far East and many of his paintings from his tour were exhibited at the Museum of Science and Industry in New York.

You can find the rest of this rare collection of original signed works from the Di Gemma showcases his talent and artistic range across multiple media, featuring works in watercolor, oil painting, and mixed-media lumiprinting here.