Attilio Piccirilli was born in Massa di Carrera, Italy to Giuseppe Piccirilli (1844 – 1910), a well-known stone carver. The elder Piccirilli immigrated to New York in 1888, bringing his 6 sons along with him. All trained as marble cutters and carvers, they became the famous Piccirilli Brothers, responsible for carving many major public monuments, including the massive sculpture of a seated Abraham Lincoln designed by Daniel Chester French for the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. Attilio created some of the most notable New York architectural sculptures, including Patience and Fortitude (the two lions that flank the entrance to the New York Main City Library).