Arturo Bonfanti was born in Bergamo in 1905. In 1926 he moved to Milan where he dedicated his life to graphic art and its application. His first personal exhibition took place in 1927 in Bergamo. In 1930 he married Luisa Ferravilla, daughter of the famous actor, and two years after Adriana was born.
In 1947 he undertook works dealing with abstract geometry. In 1952 where he presented works in motion and cinematography that were exhibited at the VIII Festival of Amateurs in Cannes. There he received the Prix du Film des Marionettes for his work "La chiave di Calandrino." He was a stage director for "Panchina," of Sergio Liberovici, at Teatro Donizetti in Bergamo, in 1956.
From 1960 to 1975 he had personal and collective exhibitions in various cities in Italy, Europe, and America. He participated in the IX Quadriennale of Rome in 1965, the XXXIV Biennale Internazionale in Venice in 1968, and the X Biennale of San Paolo in 1969.
He meets again in Canton Ticino his friends Arp and Nicholson and here, in the Studio Lafranca of Locarno he makes a great part of his graphic production.
In 1975 he had underwent grave internal surgery that severely limited his working and creative abilities. Arturo Bonfanti died in 1978 due to a sudden illness.