Robert De Niro's father, Robert Deniro Sr., and his siblings John and Joan were born and raised in Syracuse N.Y in the 1920's. 

The late De Niro Sr. studied art at the Syracuse Museum from ages 11 to 15. Later, he left Syracuse to study under abstract painters Josef Albers and Hans Hofmann in Provincetown, Mass., where he met fellow artist Virginia Admiral. They were married and within a year had "Bobby" De Niro, but soon after they separated in New York City.

Robert De Niro Sr., born May 3, 1922, died of cancer on his 71 birthday in Manhattan. Robert De Niro dedicated his 1993 directorial debut  'A Bronx Tale' to his dad and also created of the Robert De Niro Sr., Prize in 2010. An annual $25,000 prize administered by the Tribeca Film Institute that "focuses on a mid-career American artist devoted to the pursuit of excellence and innovation in painting." Robert De Niro recently won the Excellence in Media Award for the HBO Documentary "Remembering the Artist: Robert De Niro Sr."

According to Wikipedia - De Niro, Sr., is the subject of the 2014 short documentary Remembering the Artist, in which "his life and career are chronicled in the artist's own words by his contemporaries" and De Niro, Jr. According to De Niro, Jr., “The thought of what he’s done, all his work, I can’t not but make sure that it’s held up and remembered... So I just want to see him get his due. That’s my responsibility and he used to always say that artists are always recognized after they’re long gone."


Syracuse.com. Information from

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