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Ralph Eugene Della-Volpe
Abstract of Woman with Flag

1962

About the Item

A unique and uplifting Della-Volpe of a woman with abstracted elements of a flag that speaks of pride in America. Della-Volpe himself had been in the war and when he came home he was part of the New York abstract-expressionist movement. He moved away from this and felt that color and subject matter were his interests within abstraction. He did a series called "The Flagmaker" and while this work is slightly different than those, it still explores the theme of symbols that represent countries and its citizens. This is a large work and he has wonderfully incorporated elements of stars and the red, white and blue colors. There is also an "X" but this is a spatial element of design and he was also interested at this time in putting in 'pop-art" type references to culture as well. A great painting for a living room or family room or entryway. The canvas measures 50.25 x 48 inches within the frame. IT is in a wonderful, custom designed 22 karat silvered float frame. It is signed by the artist in the upper left. And the provenance is acquired directly from the artist. Woman with Flag displays the quintessential hallmarks of Ralph Della-Volpe’s signature style: with its bold areas of arbitrary color and graphic sensibility, it speaks to the artist’s mastery of tone and form. The titular woman here appears not unlike Della-Volpe’s other painted figures, simplified in shape and without recognizable facial features. Surrounded by stars and X’s that presumably make up a flag, she blends in with the painting’s background, effectively erasing any concrete sense of depth. As Della-Volpe notes, his work is about “seeing beyond the literal details, [finding] qualities within that initial observation that must be explored and developed further.” In that light, Woman with Flag reads almost as a symbolic work, whose meaning exists in the abstract and can change depending on its viewer’s frame of reference. The painting may allude to the artist’s World War II service in the Army, the woman’s hat a possible reference to a military beret and the surrounding flags representing nations at war. Much of the beauty of Della-Volpe’s composition, however, lies in its ambiguity. Ralph Della-Volpe's semi-abstract paintings of often simplified beach scenes and anonymous portraits "convey profound awareness of mood and character." Constantly transforming what is on the canvas, the artist is never sure himself of the final composition of each work until completion because, as he says: Everything I paint is based on my own feelings about life, my own insights, my own observations and my own needs for expression. Della-Volpe first studied painting at the National Academy of Design before joining the Army during World War II. As a soldier, the artist saw action on Utah Beach, and his experiences undoubtedly affected his later artistic style. Tom Wolf, of Bard College, explained that the paintings Della-Volpe produced after his return from service in World War II “project feelings of melancholy” expressed in the tense expressions in the figures’ faces. The “coloristic exuberance” found in the works beginning in the mid 1960’s, with their vibrant fuchsias 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 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, Volpe's own works have a "faultless tonal quality, with its sense of failing light - the areas of silvery gray deepening into rosy tans". The simplified scenes and portraits express the artist's love of open space and his aim to evoke emotion through each piece rather than recognition of what exactly is painted on the canvas. Della-Volpe has exhibited widely throughout his career and has lectured on art at colleges, universities, and galleries across the country.
  • Creator:
    Ralph Eugene Della-Volpe (1923, American)
  • Creation Year:
    1962
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 53.75 in (136.53 cm)Width: 51.5 in (130.81 cm)Depth: 2.5 in (6.35 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
    Artwork is in good condition - no issues. Frame has some normal wear from time but it is negligible scuffs and is ready to hang without issue.
  • Gallery Location:
    Greenwich, CT
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: 159161stDibs: LU1413210575102

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