Salvatore Scarpitta (1919–2007) was an Italian American artist celebrated for his innovative sculptural studies of motion and his boundary-defying career that spanned Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, and beyond. Born in New York City to a Sicilian sculptor father and a Polish-Russian mother, Scarpitta was raised in Los Angeles before studying at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Rome. His early experiences during World War II—including service as a "Monuments Man" preserving art in war-torn Europe and time spent with the Italian Resistance—deeply influenced his artistic vision. Scarpitta gained recognition for his wrapped canvases, bandaged objects, and later, his full-scale race car replicas, which reflected his lifelong fascination with speed, risk, and American ingenuity. After moving to New York in 1958 at the invitation of Leo Castelli, he became a central figure in the postwar art scene, exhibiting alongside artists like Andy Warhol and Robert Rauschenberg. Scarpitta’s work is held in major museum collections worldwide, and his legacy endures as a testament to the power of material experimentation and the merging of art and life.