 The New York World,
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Sculptor C.S. Pietro first gained headlines in New York and around the United States due to a fight with heavyweight champion Jack Johnson.The fight, however, was in a courtroom rather than a boxing ring. Pietro, who at the time was working as Cartaino Sciarrino (His full name was Pietro Cartaino di Sciarrino, but he later simplified his name to "C.S. Pietro" for the convenience of his patrons and subjects.) sued Johnson for $4,000 for non-payment for a bust of the boxing champion. Johnson, whose life was the basis of the "Great White Hope" play and film, contended that he had agreed to pose for Pietro for a project to benefit both of them. Johnson said Pietro planned to sell small copies of his bust and he would receive a small payment for each copy sold. The boxer also contended that Pietro's bust did not resemble him. Pietro, however, contended that he had gone to Johnson's hotel in New York after Johnson's victory against James J. Jeffries in the "Fight of the Century" in Nevada on July 4, 1910. He made a model of the bust of Johnson, Pietro testified, and Johnson agreed to pay $4,000 for the bust. The judge ruled in May 1911 in favor of Pietro and awarded him $1,100 in damages. Johnson's status as the first African-American heavyweight boxing champion and the controversy about that status helped to make the lawsuit front-page news in New York and place articles about it on sports pages in newspapers around the country. |
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