The gift box with the classic Bellini Together in front of the gallery Cipriani S.A. traces its history to family patriarch Giuseppe Cipriani, (1900–1980) who founded Harry’s Bar in Venice in 1931. According to the company history, Harry Pickering, a young Bostonian, had been frequenting Hotel Europa in Venice, where Giuseppe Cipriani was a bartender. When Pickering explained that he was broke because his family had found out his drinking habits and cut him off financially, Cipriani loaned Pickering 10,000 lire (about $500 US – round $ 8,000 in today’s money). Two years later, Pickering returned to the hotel bar, ordered a drink, and gave Cipriani 50,000 lire in return. “Mr. Cipriani, thank you,” he said, according to the Cipriani website. “Here’s the money. And to show you my appreciation, here’s 40,000 more, enough to open a bar. We will call it Harry’s Bar.” Harry’s Bar became a popular spot for celebrities like Ernest Hemingway and Humphrey Bogart. Mr. Cipriani created the Bellini cocktail there, and the food dish Carpaccio is also reputed to have originated there. Giuseppe’s son Arrigo Cipriani (born 1932) is the majority owner. Arrigo is Italian for Harry
CASE STUDY
During my Venice exhibition in 2010 at the Magazzini del Sale, I had the honour to be visited by Arrigo Cipriani, the owner of the famous Harry’s Bar. Not only did he buy two views of Venice but we starteda collaboration and I produced a dedicated gift box with a print showing the characteristic logo on the window of the Bar. I still meet him from time to time on his way to the bar.