Anna Salvatore

Born in Rome in 1923, Salvatore studied at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze under Ottone Rosai,^[1] Galileo Chini and Felice Carena,^[2] and later at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma.^[3] She held her first exhibition in 1940.^[4] A member of the neorealist movement, she became first known thanks to her portraits of suburban people.^[5][6]

Salvatore took part in the XXIV e XXVIII Venice Biennale and in the V, VI and VIII Rome Quadriennale exhibitions.^[3][5] An "exponent of a deeply popular and socially engaged form of painting"^[7] and a major figure in the cultural and social life of her hometown, she owned the Il Pincio Gallery in Piazza del Popolo.^[5]

In 1959, Salvatore played herself in Federico Fellini's La dolce vita.^[8] In 1966, she made her literary debut with the novel Subliminal tu.^[6][9] She also served as professor of history of costumes at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia.^[3] Married and separated from writer and film director Pasquale Festa Campanile,^[4] she died of a brain aneurysm on 18 May 1978 at the Policlinico Umberto I in her hometown.^[6] She has been described as "a larger than life persona" who "made her one of the most talked-about cultural figures of her day".^[9]