Untold Tales of Yale’s Immigrant Artisans at New Haven Museum

New Haven, Conn. (May 21, 2025) – Two Italian New Haveners, Francesco Coiro and Peter S. Saldibar, contributed some astonishing artistic vision and talent to Yale’s collegiate Gothic buildings in the 1920s and 1930s. Sadly, like many craftsmen of the era, they received no recognition during their lifetimes. The two artisans will finally get their due during a lunchtime webinar for New Haven Museum, “Immigrant Artisans and the Building of Yale,” presented by graduating Yale University history major Daphne Stratton Gignac, on June 11, 2025, 12:30 pm. Register here.

Stratton Gignac discovered Coiro and Saldibar’s stories when she heard a local community member’s story of her grandfather, who had come from Italy to work on Yale’s residential colleges. “I was immediately intrigued, but as I started to research the topic, I was struck by the lack of information in Yale’s histories surrounding the identies of the craftsmen that contributed to the school’s early 20th-century buildings,” Stratton Gignac says. 

She notes that the lack of recognition seemed unusual considering the level of craftsmanship she saw in the statues and details across the campus. “The only mention I could find of these craftsmen was in the late Anthony Riccio’s book, ‘The Italian American Experience in New Haven,’ which helped me see that there was a story here that had been buried,” she says.

Stratton Gignac’s goal for the presentation is to highlight the stories and talents of New Haven’s Italian American artist class. In addition to recognizing these artists, “I hope their brilliant work at Yale, and their careers, will inspire wonder at the many ways immigrants have contributed to American art and our built environment,” she says. 

Daphne Stratton Gignac will graduate from Yale University with a bachelor’s in history in May, 2025. Throughout her time at Yale, Stratton Gignac’s work has centered around exploring cultural plurality in North America and the history of art and architecture. She was the 2023 recipient of the Ray Lamontagne essay prize, and a speaker at the Franco North American Studies Symposium held at Yale in 2025. She plans to pursue a doctorate in history.