Images(3)

Portrait of Joseph Francis Gaetano

Object number2016.157.1

Artist Frank W. Rupp

MediumOil on canvas; Paint; Varnish; Wood; Fabric; Gilding; Metal

Credit LineGift of Theresa K. Long

DescriptionFramed oil painting. Portrait on rectangular canvas with pink, purple, and blue blended background. The male subject is depicted facing forward in his police uniform with service cap, he wears his police badge on his proper left breast.DimensionsHeight x Width x Depth (Framed): 26.438 × 22.438 × 2.563 in. (67.2 × 57 × 6.5 cm)
Height x Width (Sight size): 19.438 × 15.438 in. (49.4 × 39.2 cm)
Signed"FRANK W. RUPP" painted in brown in the bottom left corner.
InscriptionsThe subject is depicted wearing his police badge on his proper left breast, the badge has "1344" painted at center and "PITTSBURGH POLICE" around the perimeter.
Historical NotesPainting of the donor's uncle, Joseph F. Gaetano, who was a Pittsburgh Police officer killed on the job in 1966. Gaetano was of Italian descent, the son of a mason, he grew up in Beechview. He joined the police force in 1954, when he was around 25. The year before his death he was married to Jean, who he met in a club where she worked. By the time of Gaetano’s death he worked in the Public Safety building, taking fingerprints and booking new suspects, etc., as he had trained in fingerprint identification. On June 10, 1966, as he was escorting Edward Bittner from booking to a holding cell, Bittner grabbed Gaetano's gun when they were alone on the elevator and shot him fatally in the chest. Gaetano was killed and Bittner jumped through a window and escaped, only to be caught later that day in the Hill District. The painting was given to the family by the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP).Label TextThis painting is of the donor's uncle, Joseph F. Gaetano, a Pittsburgh Police officer killed on the job in 1966. Of Italian descent and the son of a mason, Gaetano grew up in Beechview. He joined the police force in 1954, when he was around 25. Gaetano worked in the Public Safety building, taking fingerprints and booking new suspects. On June 10, 1966, as he escorted Edward Bittner from booking to a holding cell, Bittner grabbed his gun and shot him fatally in the chest. Bittner then jumped through a window and escaped, only to be caught later that day in the Hill District. The family received the painting from the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP).

Related person Joseph Francis Gaetano

Related person Edward E. Bittner

Related institution Pittsburgh Bureau of Police

Related institution Fraternal Order of Police

Subjects