Soon after military service in World War II, he began a career as an art educator. He taught at
Yale University School of Art from 1946 to 1951. His students at that time included
Claes Oldenburg. From 1951 to 1981, Graziani was at the School of the Worcester Art Museum in
Worcester, Massachusetts, where he taught and was also Dean. In 1982, he moved to
Paier College of Art in
Hamden, Connecticut, where he was Dean until 1995 and Dean Emeritus that same year until his death. Graziani initially gained recognition for his murals. Among his works were several murals at the public library in
Holyoke, Massachusetts, depicting among others
Elizur Holyoke and
Rowland Thomas; a mural finished in 1942 at the
Columbus Junction, Iowa, post office titled
Lovers Leap;
a post office mural,
Joseph Deford and His Friends Build the First Cabin in Bluffton (1941) in
Bluffton, Ohio; and one at the Museum of Fine Arts in
Springfield, Massachusetts. In later works that drew on iconic paintings from art history for inspiration, he produced paintings and murals that reflected the influence of
pop art. He has been described as "a witty, clever painter and draughtsman, [who] likes to paraphrase the old masters, copying some of their most famous works, and incorporating them into vividly colored hard-edge backgrounds." In the years around the
United States bicentennial celebration in 1976, he produced paintings that included references to well known images of
George and
Martha Washington. He was commissioned to paint a colorful and decorative mural featuring an image of George Washington on the side of a building in Worcester, Massachusetts, in that era. He was also commissioned to design a stamp for the U.S. postal service. Graziani died at his daughter's home in Princeton, Massachusetts, aged 85. ==References==