John Zaccheo
John Zaccheo, known for his exquisite portraits and vibrant paintings of Mediterranean seascapes as well as alluring flowering gardens and country settings is a master with the brush and at one time, a palette knife; creating color and form with each stroke that captivates the viewer.
Born in Kingston, New York, John earned degrees from Dutchess College and Syracuse University and won a gold medal for outstanding achievements in fine arts. After finishing college, John enlisted in the US Navy and completed two world tours, as well as tour duty in Vietnam. After an honorable discharge John continued his studies at the Art Student League in New York, before traveling to Europe and Japan to further his studies with renowned artists and sculptors – Arthur Lidov, John Pike, Robert Benny, David Lax, Joseph Hirsch, Leslie Ross and Lewis Krevolin.
Early in his career, John Zaccheo was the art director of Seidman & Lane Inc.., and then American Management Association (NYC). He later became head creative director of the Music Agency, Inc and Warner Brothers Music and Publications where he designed album covers for famous musicians. (The Partridge Family, Seals and Crofts, The Fifth Dimension, Neil Young, The Doors, Gordon Lightfoot, Elton John, just to name a few.) John has a repertoire of freelance projects that he created for leading NYC Advertising Agencies. His illustrations have been published in several magazines including Time and Life, with his painting of astronaut Neil Armstrong “The First Landing on the Moon” as the cover of Time Magazine. The original painting was honorably presented to Neil Armstrong.
John Zaccheo eventually opened his own advertising agency in NYC and later in upstate New York which he sold to move to the Palm Beaches to pursue a career in fine art inspired by his artistic journey through 36 countries. John quickly became a prolific and popular artist with works in several South Florida galleries. He then signed on with Wentworth Gallery, the largest national gallery chain, creating over 650 paintings of which thousands of signed limited edition serigraphs were made from and hundreds of those reproduced into serigraphs onto canvas, which he personally embellished, all to be distributed and sold to galleries all over the United States. John’s popularity led him to over 50 one man shows with paintings that reside in museums, national corporate collections and portraits in national and international collections of President Jimmy Carter, John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, and Barack Obama as well as “The Signing of the Peace Treaty” with Prime Minister Anwar Sadat of Egypt and Prime Minister Menachem Begin of Israel. John has also painted portraits of Gregory Peck, Anthony Quinn, Tony Bennett, the father of Rush Limbaugh and Rush Limbaugh himself.
John Zaccheo now resides in Vermont, surrounded by picturesque towns and mountain views that provide him with an abundance of new inspiration and the space to paint using his own custom paints which he creates in his studio laboratory. He owns an art gallery in Manchester VT, which at one time was the largest gallery in the state. “The John Zaccheo Fine Art Gallery” carries an array of paintings and sculptures from nationally known artists and discovered local talent hidden in the mountains of Vermont. John is also contracted with “Art Licensing”, a company that publishes, sells, and licenses artwork to manufacturers in various product categories.
At 75 years old (in 2017) and a lifetime career as an artist, John Zaccheo has illustrated, sculpted, painted in every medium and most every style from impressionism and impasto thick textured paintings created with a palette knife, to hyper realism, from still life to land and seascapes, country and city scenes, from abstract to traditional and ultra realistic portraits. He sells everything he creates. John has truly mastered his technique and with keen attention to minute detail, has the ability to capture a person or animal’s spirit and soul, making his life like portraits appear alive. His land and seascapes each tell a story from a man who has dedicated his life to recreating natures beauty. Although he will never fully retire, John Zaccheo plans to add more travel back into his life as inspiration to future creations.
