Anthony Joseph "Tony" Cipriano

PFC in 603rd Engineer Camouflage Bn : Co D, HQ Platoon

ASN#33313644

Born 1915 in PA, Died 2010

Artist

County of enlistment: Philadelphia, PA

Other residence(s): Philadelphia, PA; Queens, NY; Montreal, PQ, Canada

United States Army, European Theatre of Operations

Occupation before the war: commercial artists

College education before the war: University of the Arts, Philadelphia

Notes: Formerly Co C

Source: 603rd Camouflage Engineer Roster provided by W. Anderson; 603rd reunion mailing list; Company D With Addresses Roster; Company C roster; Bernie Mason Company D Roster;Bernie Mason Company D Roster; Bernie Mason photo of Company D in Trier with names on back; 603rd Good Conduct Medal List, 6 July 1943; photo courtesy Mary Ann Cipriano

Tony Cipriano was born on July 23, 1915 in Philadelphia, PA, the youngest of four children. Both of his parents had been born in Naples, Italy. Sadly, his father died when he was just a year old, leaving his mother with four children ages 1-8.

He attended high school in Philadelphia, and studied for four years at the Philadelphia School of Industrial Arts (now the University of the Arts) and the Graphic Sketch School of Philadelphia. By the time he registered for the draft, on October 16, 1940, he was working as a commercial artist with the Philadelphia Inquirer. He enlisted on May 16, 1942. Like other New York and Philadelphia artists and art students, he was assigned to the 603rd Engineer Camouflage Battalion, and served in Europe with the unit. He was discharged on October 24, 1945 with the rank of PFC.

On September 30, 1947 he married Virginia T. Koppie, a registered nurse, in Manhattan. After completing his studies in Philadelphia he found work in New York, doing package design and advertising art for major companies including Revlon, Coty, and Colgate. (See the image slider elsewhere on this page.) The 1950 census shows the couple living in Rego Park, NY (a neighborhood of Queens) and Tony working in advertising art. During their years in New York, Tony and Virginia became the parents of a daughter, Mary Ann. Ghost Army veteran John Hapgood was her godfather.

From 1950-1951, Tony attended Alexey Brodovitch's Design Laboratory night classes at the New School.* He and his wife sailed to London on April 14, 1951 for a two-month stay in Europe; possibly this trip was like those that other artists from the Ghost Army took to further their art education. Tony and Virginia returned to New York at the end of June.

In 1964, he was recruited by Seagram's to be their Director of Design at the head office in Montreal, PQ, Canada. Over his years there, he won numerous awards as a designer for both packaging and bottles for well-known beverages such as VO, Five Star, Bolshoi Vodka, Captain Morgan, Vandermint, etc. (See the image slider.)

In 1967, several Ghost Army veterans including Tony, Art Kane, Jack Masey, and Bill Blass were reunited to design select aspects of the US pavilion for expo67, the International Exposition in Montreal. (See the image slider.) Tony also continued to create art on his own, exhibiting his paintings in Washington, Philadelphia, New York, and Montreal. His work is represented in private collections in the US and Canada.

Tony retired from Seagram's in 1987 but remained in Montreal where he enjoyed swimming, attending theatre and the opera and Montreal Expos baseball games, and doting on his grandchildren.

He died on February 4, 2010.

*Brodovitch served as art director of Harper's Bazaar from 1934-1958, and was a popular and influential teacher. Among his other students was Ghost Army veteran Art Kane who said of Brodovitch: "He taught me to be intolerant of mediocrity. He taught me to worship the unknown."