Achille Laugé

Almond Trees in Spring

1919-1944

Rubaldo Merello 1872 - 1922 | Italian Monastery Complex with Statue of Maria Signed “Merello R.“ (lower right) Oil on canvas Rubaldo Merello was a prolific turn-of-the-century art...

Henri Matisse 1869-1954 French Grand paysage, Mont Alban Signed “Henri - Matisse” (lower left) Oil on canvas Hailing from a pivotal moment in the artist’s artistic development, G...

Jean Helleu (French, 1894-1985) A painter, watercolorist and designer born in Paris, France. The son of Paul-César Helleu. (a French oil painter, pastel artist, drypoint etcher, and designer, best known for his numerous portraits of beautiful society women of the Belle Époque. He conceived the ceiling mural of night sky constellations for Grand Central Terminal in New York City. He studied with Jean-Leon Gerome and was friends with John Singer Sargent, James McNeill Whistler, and Claude Monet.) Jean shared with his father a love of the sea and sailing. He studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and the Grande Chaumière. (Kurt Seligmann, Yolande Ardissone, Balthus, Jacques Bouyssou, Gabriel Dauchot, Étienne Hajdu, Jean Helleu, Claude Lazar...

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...