He was well known for innovation with enamel and steel[2] and received both local and national recognition for his work, including honorary awards, competitive prizes and commissions,[3] along with a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1957.

[4] Cantini long served as a faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh,[5][6] where he helped to create the Department of Studio Arts.

[6][7] His studies were interrupted by World War II, in which he served the Army making topographical maps and models in North Africa.

[7] Cantini and his wife settled in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, where they had two daughters, Maria and Lisa,[9] and lived for 60 years.

In 1956, the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts named Cantini the region's Artist of the Year, and he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1957.