Jasper D'Ambrosi, son of

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

immigrants, was born and raised in

Wilmington, California Wilmington is a neighborhood in the Harbor region of Los Angeles, California, covering . Featuring a heavy concentration of industry and the third-largest oil field in the continental United States, this neighborhood has a high percentage of La ...

. He attended

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

on a football scholarship where he studied painting and graduated cum laude. Out of college, D'Ambrosi worked nine years in the art department of

Douglas Aircraft The Douglas Aircraft Company was an American aerospace manufacturer based in Southern California. It was founded in 1921 by Donald Wills Douglas Sr. and later merged with McDonnell Aircraft in 1967 to form McDonnell Douglas; it then operated as ...

, after which he founded and operated his own printing and design business while painting and sculpting part-time. In 1970, he sold his business to become a full-time artist. D'Ambrosi is well known for 'The Fallen Warrior', a companion piece to Arizona's Vietnam Veterans' Memorial, which stands outside the state capital. Other well-known pieces include "El Capitan", a life-size longhorn which is located in downtown

Dodge City Dodge City is the county seat of Ford County, Kansas, United States, named after nearby Fort Dodge. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 27,788. The city is famous in American culture for its history as a wild frontier town ...

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; and "Buffalo Jone-Visionary", another life-size monument in Garden City,

. Early on October 1, 2010, the "El Capitan" statue was damaged when a car crashed into it, knocking it from its pedestal. Damage included a broken tail and one broken horn. The City of

plans to have the statue restored and replaced on its pedestal. On 1 August 1986, D'Ambrosi died after a brief illness due to blood cell abnormalities suspected to be caused by years of working toxic art materials. At the time of his death, he was about to begin the final clay model of 'Jacob's Ladder', a sculpture for the

American Merchant Marine Veterans Memorial The American Merchant Marine Veterans Memorial in John S. Gibson Park, San Pedro, California, was commissioned to honor American merchant marine veterans from all wars. It contains the bronze sculpture ''Jacob's Ladder'' by Jasper D'Ambrosi as ...

. His two sons, Marc and Michael D'Ambrosi, completed the sculpture shortly after their father's death. It is on public display today at Los Angeles Harbor on the corner of South Harbor Boulevard and West Sixth Street in

San Pedro, California San Pedro ( ; Spanish: "St. Peter") is a neighborhood within the City of Los Angeles, California. Formerly a separate city, it consolidated with Los Angeles in 1909. The Port of Los Angeles, a major international seaport, is partially located wi ...

References

External links

* Blue Coyote Gallery
Short Biography and Artist Profile
Retrieved September 11, 2006. * El Capitan damage report
New story
Retrieved October 1, 2010. 20th-century American sculptors 1986 deaths Year of birth missing American people of Italian descent People from Wilmington, Los Angeles Sculptors from Los Angeles American male sculptors 20th-century American male artists University of Southern California alumni {{US-sculptor-stub