Following the 1910 elections, he created a commemorative gold medal for Vice President-elect Victorino de la Plaza, who secured a scholarship for Curatella that took him to Florence and Rome.

On his return to Argentina in 1912, National Fine Arts School director Ernesto de la Cárcova nearly ordered the funds' repayment, objecting to travel and activities not covered by the scholarship, desisting from the punishment after being shown a folio of Curatella's prolific work.

Curatella continued to sculpt during his diplomatic tenure, and was among those who in 1946 reinaugurated the Salon des Indépendants, an artists' society and exhibit series banned by the Vichy regime.

He contributed to Unesco festivals and was appointed to the organizing committee for Expo 58, while accepting a commission from architect Mario Roberto Álvarez for two reliefs, El Drama and La Comedia, for display in the public San Martín Theatre, inaugurated in 1960.

His El Guitarrista and Torso Femenino were acquired by the Modern Art Museum of the City of Paris, but a sudden illness forced the noted sculptor to return to Buenos Aires, where he died in 1962, at age 70.