Rudolph Edward Torrini

Torrini died on September 5, 2018 at the age of 95, following complications from Alzheimer's disease.

Torrini had begun drawing during the war, and afterwards earned a BFA at the St. Louis School of Fine Arts at Washington University, then was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to study for a year at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze in Florence, Italy in 1949. Afterwards, he earned his MFA at the University of Notre Dame, where he studied under Ivan Meštrović. He went on to teach first at Webster College (now Webster University) for 17 years, then chaired the Art Department at Fontbonne College for 35 years.

Rudolph Torrini was born in St. Louis the son of Stella DiPalma, a pianist in silent movie houses, and Cherinto Torrini, a plaster mold-maker from Garfagnana, Tuscany. After the death of his father, he became a jazz saxophone performer in his teenage years to support his family, then enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1942, serving as a clarinetist on the ship's band of the transport ship U.S.S. West Point.

Rudolph Torrini first worked as a jazz saxophone player and clarinetists during the 1930s and 40s, including performing as part of the Navy Band present at Franklin Delano Roosevelt's funeral. Later, in the 1970s, he formed a Dixieland band with five other musicians called Tiger Rag Jazz Forever, which performed in the St. Louis area and recorded 3 LPs, including Tigers on Parade. All of their recordings feature clarinet and saxophone solos by Torrini. In addition, he was a lover of classical music, and always listened to it while working on his sculptures in his studio.

Rudolph Edward Torrini (March 31, 1923 – September 5, 2018) was an American artist best known for his sculptures, wood carvings and bronze public monuments in the St. Louis area, including "The Immigrants", "The Union Soldier," and "Martin Luther King." A student of Croatian sculptor Ivan Meštrović, his work is also influenced by the works of Auguste Rodin. Torrini trained and taught Bob Cassilly, founder of the City Museum in St. Louis, and also helped establish the Master of Fine Arts program in Fontbonne College.