Tom Cardamone, Illustrator of "Monty" Book, Passes Away
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Published on Thursday, 10 January 2013 18:15
Tom Cardamone, illustrator of the first children's book set in Ave Maria, Monty, Cat of Ave Maria, died on January 2nd after a long illness. He was 86.
Mr. Cardamone grew up in Long Island, NY. He studied privately at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and then attended Brooklyn College before finally enrolling in the School of Visual Arts where he graduated as an illustrator. He returned to SVA to teach for twenty years.
In addition to being an illustrator, Mr. Cardamone was a serious painter. He won numerous awards for his work, which has been featured in galleries and shows throughout the country.
Mr. Cardamone also served his country for two years during the Second World War.
"It was a blessing for me to meet Tom," says Patricia Sette, who authored Monty, Cat of Ave Maria. "I had written a story about my cat Monty, and had no idea how to get the kind of illustrations I had in mind for it, let alone how to take it through the steps needed to publish a book."
"Then, at the Festival of the Arts held in the town center in 2008, I came across Tom's work. What caught my eye was a painting of an Airedale – the dog had a bright expression, whimsical and full of personality, which is how I wanted Monty portrayed."
"It was a delight to work not only with Tom, but with his wife, Ann , who selected the typeface and guided the layout. Both were very experienced with book illustration and knew all the steps of getting a book ready for publication. Ann was the one who came up with the idea of making a stamp from Monty's paw print, so he could 'sign' the book."
A few days after Tom's death, his wife, his daughter Doreen, and Tom's brother and sister-in-law decided to spend a tranquil day visiting Ave Maria. Once there, they asked a passerby if he knew how to locate Patricia. Soon, Patricia, her husband David, and Monty were visiting with Ann and the others in front of The Bean.
"Tom was such a humble man that he originally designed the cover without his name on it," Patricia recalls. "I had to insist that he re-design it to include his name. It certainly belonged there – I probably would never have gotten the book published if it wasn't for meeting Tom."
