Larry Horowitz

Large Pastel Landscape Purple Mountains Landscape American Modernist Painting

1988

RALPH DELLA-VOLPE (1923-2017) Fine Art Painter, American Contemporary The Valley Oil on canvas Hand signed lower left and again to stretcher and verso 16 x 20 inches. frame dimensions: 22 1/4 x 26 inches, wood frame Provenance: The Estate of the artist Ralph Della Volpe 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. SOLO SHOWS: Hotchkiss Library, Sharon, Conn Millbrook Library, Millbrook,NY Gregory James Gallery...

Jacques Zucker was born in 1900 in Radom, Poland. He was a notably famous Jewish American artist mostly known for his expressionist figure paintings. In his young years he traveled t...

"Red Oak Albuquerque, NM" is an original pastel drawing signed by the artist Peggy Leonard. It depicts a red oak tree among smaller green trees in a landscape. 9 1/2" x 12 1/4" art 19 3/4" x 22 1/4" frame Peggy Leonard received her BFA in painting and drawing and an associate’s degree in nursing from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. She is both a registered nurse, and accomplished artist, residing in Milwaukee, WI. From the artist: “These paintings are my prayers,” muses Leonard, reflecting on her driving need to express herself through her art. “We are made of the stuff that requires us to respond with our hearts and hands. Often, it requires terrible sacrifice and suffering, something not everyone can understand. But it is done with reverence of life, not irreverence.” Leonard’s pastels and oil paintings capture her reverence of life and reflect her own life’s journey, including earlier forays into the wilderness. Her venture into art began in early childhood, as childless neighbors nurtured her natural ability to draw; concurrently, Leonard’s parents instilled a respect for academic excellence and the higher order of nurturing others. As a young nurse, Leonard “heard and saw poignant messages to travel while one was young and free…while one had one’s health.” Consequently, she took to the open road and public lands, camping across America for months at a time. During these years, her “celebration of the natural splendor of this country” helped shape her sense of artistic expression. She was moved by such sights as the sunset on St. Mary’s Lake...

"Bosque del Apache, NM" is an original pastel drawing on rag paper signed by the artist Peggy Leonard. It depicts an expansive desert landscape underneath a blue sky. 21 1/2" x 29 ...