Carman Bonanno was born in New York but returned to Italy at the age of nine. He attended various schools in both Southern Italy and Sicily before entering an art school in Rome, then supported himself by painting murals and sacred pictures in a number of churches. He returned to New York in 1931 and studied etching and drypoint techniques at the Art Students League. Bonanno served with the U.S. forces as an aviation engineer in both North Africa and in Italy during World War II. Both during and after the war, he worked on a number of fine drypoints and etchings which were published in both Italy and in New York by the Associated American Artists. Equally gifted for both his figure studies and views of Italy, Carman Bonanno's work received wide acclaim both here and in Europe.