The History

Our story begins in Agrigento, Italy, in the early 1900's. Under the tutelage of master artists Giuseppe and Vincenzo Guadanga, Archilao Gloria learned the secrets of Italy's ancient masters. Apprenticed in the magnificent Basilicas of southern Italy for nearly a decade, Archilao emerged as a master in his own right. With the guarded knowledge of obscure mixtures and techniques with a bag of tools and his recipes, Archie, as he became known, brought his work to New York where his style of painting would soon revolutionize the American decorative market. Over the years, Archie has accommodated some of the world's most renowned designers (Mario Buatta, Samuel Botero, Mark Hampton to name a few) with some of the finest decorative finishes available anywhere in the world, yet never relinquishing the secrets of his method. Some 60 years later, Archie's legacy continues through the work of his son, Michael Gloria- a second generation master of his old world artistry. Due to the enormous growth in the demand for quality Faux painting, Michael has developed a system that offers his father's coveted recipes and products to the professional painter. This range of products, manufactured to the most exacting standards by world renowned paint producers, has been launched under the brand Italian Masters. Through his own innovation and his father's secret recipes, Michael has developed a waterbased range of products and a package of support and service that is truly one of a kind. Michael's impact on the industry is best said in his words: "Old World Craftsmanship meets new World Technology." It is now possible for the typical professional painter to reproduce the full glory of the Faux finishing style that Archie Gloria pioneered many years ago in New York.