di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art maintains a permanent collection of works by Northern California artists that was originally collected by Rene di Rosa (1919-2010) and Veronica di Rosa (1934–1991). The collection contains notable works by artists living or working in the San Francisco Bay Area from mid-twentieth century to the early twenty-first century, highlighting a story of experimentation of the artists of the region. It is displayed in part, on a rotating basis, in the galleries at di Rosa.
This page represents a just a portion of di Rosa’s rich permanent collection. Stay tuned as we continue to populate this page with artworks from our collection.
di Rosa strives to be a resource for educators, students and lifelong learners. For research inquiries, please contact curatorial@dirosaart.org.
Isis
Painting
Female torso (caryatid) draped in Egyptian style gown
726
Acrylic and mixed media on masonite
Painting
AR726
Anglim/Trimble
Purchase
Jay DeFeo
1972
Framed
49 in
25 in
Object
48 in
24 in
The Incorrect Museum: Redux
May 13, 2022 - February 26, 2023, di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art, Napa
The Incorrect Museum: Vignettes from the di Rosa Collection
April 17, 2021- January 12, 2022, di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art
Be Not Still: Living in Uncertain Times (Part 2)
June 23 - December 30, 2018, di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art
Based on a True Story: Highlights from the di Rosa Collection
October 26, 2016 - October 15, 2017, di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art, Napa
The True Artist is an Amazing Luminous Fountain
April 21 - July 31, 2004, Kreeger Museum, Washington D.C.; September 12, 2004 - May 8, 2005, di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art, Napa June 21 - August 14, 2005, Palm Springs Art Museum October 8 - November 27, 2005, Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History
Curator
2016
Isis (1972) is a pivotal work that marked a major stylistic shift from her use of oil on canvas to acrylic on more rigid, smooth surfaces, such as Masonite and plywood. This transition allowed for a more nuanced approach to painting, emphasizing illusionistic rendering and representation as opposed to the abstract additive nature of her prior paintings. Inspired by an Egyptian statue from the Louvre’s collection, Isis nods to photorealism and coincides with the emergence of photography as an accepted fine art form (and DeFeo’s own experimentation with the medium).