Late 20th Century Ralph Della Volpe, Modernist Oil Painting Moody Fauvist Abstract Nude Figure Ralph Della Volpe, Framed

RALPH DELLA-VOLPE (1923-2017)
Fine Art Painter, American Contemporary
Oil on canvas
Hand signed lower right
Artist Signed, Abstract Oil on Canvas. Figure in the distance.
Approx: 30″ x 27 1/2″ framed, 26 1/2″ x 23 1/2″ canvas.

TRAINING:
National Academy of Design
The Art Students League, NYC

Ralph Eugene Della-Volpe’s semi-abstract paintings of often simplified, minimalist, beach scenes and anonymous portraits “convey profound awareness of mood and character”, and his paintings are hardly as literal as they may first appear (Arts Magazine. “New York Exhibitions”. 1965). His brightly-colored, light-infused, ornamental compositions bring together aspects of many modernist art movements including Fauvism, Impressionism, Symbolism, and abstraction. Della-Volpe first studied painting at the prestigious National Academy of Design before joining the Army during World War II. As a soldier, the artist saw action on Utah Beach, winning a Purple Heart, and his experiences undoubtedly affected his later artistic style. The Fauvist “coloristic exuberance” found in the works beginning in the mid 1960’s, with their vibrant fuschias and yellows, seem to offset what could be an otherwise solemn tone to many of his works at the time. Upon his return from military service, Della-Volpe’s style evolved significantly. In the years following the second world war, his work was solemn, imbued with a quiet darkness. Over time, this darkness faded: by the 1950s, influenced by his time at the Art Students League, his oeuvre was overtaken by the tenants of Abstract Expressionism. Paintings from this period boast bold brushwork, energetic compositions, and strong color. Although the next decade saw Della-Volpe trade expressionist abstraction for figuration, his love of color continued to shine through his work.Della-Volpe took a teaching position as the first artist-in-residence at Bennett College in Millbrook, New York where he remained for 28 years, serving as chairman of the Art Department for most of that time. Obviously influenced by impressionism ‘s preoccupation with the treatment of light, Della-Volpe’s own works have a “faultless tonal quality, with its sense of failing light—the areas of silvery gray deepening into rosy tans” (Arts Magazine. “In the Galleries”. 1960). Della-Volpe has exhibited widely throughout his career and has lectured on art at colleges, universities, and galleries across the country. He was included in the show Abstraction: 1950-1970 at Taylor Graham, Greenwich CT. A survey of post-war abstract art movements including Abstract Expressionism, Color Field, Hard Edge, Minimalism and Op-Art. Adolph Gottlieb, André Cottavoz, Carl Robert Holty,
Cleve Gray, Friedel Dzubas, Ilya Bolotowsky, James Hiroshi Suzuki, Norman Bluhm, Ralph Della-Volpe, Theodore Appleby and more.

SOLO SHOWS:

Hotchkiss Library, Sharon, Conn
Millbrook Library, Millbrook,NY
Gregory James Gallery, New Milford, Conn
Greenwich Gallery, Greenwich CT
VVFA, New York, New York
Saxon Gallery, Southampton, NY
Studio 22 Gallery, Amenia, NY
Mabbettsville Gallery, NY
Greenwich Gallery, Greenwich CT
Randall Tuttle Fine Arts, Woodbury CT
River Gallery, Essex. CT.
50 YEAR RETROSPECTIVE, Warren Street Gallery, Hudson NY
O’Leary- Jacobson Gallery, Torrington, CT.
Canio’s, Sag Harbor, NY 1987
RETROSPECTIVE, Columbia Mus. Of Art, Columbia, SC
Wolfe Street Gallery, Washington D.C.
Arts Exclusive Gallery, Simsbury, CT.
Talking of Michelangelo Gall. Washington D.C.
The Gallery, West Cornwall, CT
Anderson Fine Art Center, Anderson, IN
University. Of Maine, Presque Isle, ME
20 Years of Painting Retrospective, Bennett College Gallery, Millbrook NY
Babcock Galleries, NYC

GROUP EXHIBITS:
Gregory James Gallery, Connecticut
VVFA , Manhattan
Grand Central Art Galleries, NY
Pa. Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA
Library of Congress, Washington D.C.
“Modern Masters” The Silo Gallery, New Milford, CT.
Southern Connecticut State College, New Haven, CT.
WORLD’S FAIR, House of Good Taste, NY
National Institute of Arts and Letters
Parke-Bernet Galleries, Summer Exhibit, NY
Butler Art Institute Annual, Youngstown, OH
Contemporary Gallery, NY
State University of N.Y. at Albany, NY
MacNay Institute, San Antonio, TX
Houston Gallery, Houston, TX
Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, CT.
Lehigh University Art Gallery, Easton, PA
Albany Museum, Albany NY
Vassar College Art Gallery, Poughkeepsie, NY
Terry Art Institute, FL
Sweat Museum, Portland, ME. Boston Society of Independent Artists
American Drawing Annual, Norfolk Museum, Norfolk VA
Art Association of Newport, RI
Washington Watercolor Club, Washington, D.C.
Speed Museum, Louisville, KY
Flint Institute, Flint , MI
Wichita Art Association, Wichita, KS
Chicago Society of Etchers, Chicago, IL
The Print Club, Philadelphia, PA
Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Springfield Art Center, Springfield OH
MacDowell Colony Exhibit, NYC
Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
Museum of Modern Art Lending Library, NY
American Color Print Society, Philadelphia PA
Fifth National Veterans Art Exhibit
Society of Washington Printmakers, Was D.C.
Boston Printmakers, Boston MA
Print Club of Albany, Albany, NY
Bradley University National Print Annual
New Britain Print Annual, New Britain CT
Appalachian National Drawing Annual, Boone, N.C.

PURCHASE AWARD & PRIZES:
Library of Congress, Wash, D.C. Purchase Award
Wichita Art Association, KS Purchase Award
Art Students league, NYC Purchase Award
Washington Watercolor Club Honorable Mention
Berkshire Museum Drawing Prize

REPRESENTED IN COLLECTIONS:

Library of Congress, Pennell Collection
Chase Manhattan Bank, New York, New York
New U.S. Treasury Bldg. Washington D.C.
Slater Museum, Norwich, CT
Art Students League, NYC
Wichita Art Association

REPRODUCED IN:
THE ART DIGEST
AMERICAN ARTIST
ART NEWS
ARTS
Country and Abroad Magazine
Several reproductions in THE NEW YORK TIMES, ARTS YEARBOOK 7, AND
NEW YORK ART WORLD, 1964

MACDOWELL FELLOWSHIP: Mac Dowell Art Colony, Peterboro, N.H. 1963

REPRESENTED:
Who’s Who in America 2007
Mantle Fielding’s “Dictionary of American Painters, Sculptors & Engravers”1983
Who’s Who in the East
Who’s Who in American Art
Artists Biographical Dictionary
Art Almanac
American Prints in the Library of Congress
International Who’s Who of Art and Antiques
Dictionary of International Biography
International Directory of Arts
Outstanding Educators of America