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Ralph Eugene Della-Volpe
Sailing with Dark Cloud Overhead

2002

About the Item

A romantic and marvelous small painting that will enliven any smaller wall in an interior! Historically, Della-Volpe is a similar artist to Milton Avery and Wolf Kahn. After the war these artists experimented with abstraction but then pivoted back to keeping subject matter in their abstractions. Color became their main focus along with form and for Ralph - what he called "Rhythm". He did a series of sailing paintings and all have colors that are expressive and slightly amplified from reality. Here the peach, pink and gray tones all create the feel of the warmth of a setting sun sail. It is playful and transportive. The canvas itself measures 16 x 12 inches within the frame and it is signed in the upper right. Provenance is acquired directly from the artist. Will be accompanied by a nice catalogue of the artist from an exhibition in the mid 2000's. Attractive in a custom designed silvered, 22 karat float frame. Ralph Eugene Della-Volpe's semi-abstract paintings of often simplified beach scenes and anonymous portraits "convey profound awareness of mood and character", and his paintings are hardly as literal as they may first appear. 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 fuscias 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:
    2002
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 19 in (48.26 cm)Width: 15 in (38.1 cm)Depth: 2 in (5.08 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
    Art is in excellent condition. Frame might have some negligible slight scuff or wear but it is ready to hang!
  • Gallery Location:
    Greenwich, CT
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU1413210568662

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