Salvatore Gulino

Salvatore Gulino
Aug 28, 1930 - July 12, 2025
Salvatore Gulino, a beloved art educator whose passion for creativity shaped generations of students, died on July 12, 2025, at his home in Southbury, Connecticut. He was 94.
For 33 years, Mr. Gulino inspired students at Wamogo Regional High School in Litchfield. He taught art and directed school plays, encouraging countless teenagers to discover their artistic gifts.
Born in Boston, Sal revealed his artistic gifts at a young age. His mother took advantage of the family's proximity to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston to enroll him in classes there during his elementary and high school years. He literally grew up in the presence of the Old Masters. Later, he pursued formal training at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts and earned a four-year diploma and fifth-year professional certificate, which included study in France. He went on to earn a degree in Arts Education from Tufts University, and completed an M.F.A. at Syracuse University.
His career as a working artist flourished alongside his teaching, with more than 22 solo exhibitions and 85 group shows across the Northeast. He received eight Art of the Northeast USA awards from the Silvermine Guild, along with numerous Best of Show honors. Reviews in The New York Times, Yankee Magazine and Connecticut Magazine affirmed his reputation as a leading regional artist. He was at the forefront of the development of Appropriation Art in the early 1960s, bringing to his source imagery a keen and distinct sense of design.
After retiring from teaching, Sal embraced new technologies, running a successful home-based graphic design business. Even in his later years, he was eager to explore digital media and the intersections of art, design and technology.
Sal led a vibrant and expressive life. He took genuine pleasure in championing local organizations, namely Artwell and the Nutmeg Ballet, where he found inspiration and community. Tuesday morning breakfasts with retired colleagues, Wheezer's Geezers, brought camaraderie and creative nourishment. He produced the group's weekly newsletter, often featuring his comic strip, Burpo, a cheeky take on current events and inside jokes. Sal was also a self-taught drummer, who played in local venues as part of Music Gentry.
He made his home in Harwinton for five decades before relocating to Southbury in 2018, where, in a burst of late-life inspiration, he produced over 100 Fragments, small canvases that reflected his refined technique, enduring imagination, playful spirit, and lifelong love of form and color.
Sal was predeceased by his parents, his sisters, Stella and Fanny, and his brothers, Anthony and Richard. He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Leola (née Belzil); his daughters, Gina Stack (Anthony), Maria Elting (Victor), and Lea Hausherr (James); his brother-in-law, Robert Belzil (Maria); and four grandchildren: Sally and Victor Elting and Wyatt and Sawyer Stack. To his family, he was more than a husband, father, and grandfather, he was a remarkably hip, insightful, and loving presence.
Services will be held on Thursday, August 28, at 2 pm, with a Memorial Mass at the Lourdes Shrine in Litchfield, CT (50 Montfort Road), followed by a gathering at the Shrine's Pilgrim Hall.
Sal's legacy lies not only in his timeless canvases, but with the students he mentored, many of whom went on to careers in the arts. His life was a testament to the belief that art, in all its forms, can transform a person and a community for the better.
The family wishes to express publicly their profound gratitude to the team at RVNA Health Hospice for their outstanding support.
To send online expressions of sympathy to the family, kindly visit www.thurstonrowefuneralhome.com .