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.
Two Lovers
Sculpture
Blonde woman and black-haired man embracing
228
Wood, paint
Sculpture
AR228
Charles Campbell Gallery
Purchase
Gordon Cook
1976
Self-portraits
Object
7-1/4 in
14-1/2 in
6 in
Curator
2022
Gordon Cook (1927-1985) was a painter, printmaker, and sculptor. His work is represented in the collections of the Achenbach Foundation for the Graphic Arts, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Art Institute of Chicago, National Museum of American Art, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. This is an apparent self-portrait dating from the time of the artist’s marriage to painter Joan Brown. Differing from the abstracted landscapes and still-lives for which Cook is best known, Two Lovers bears resemblance to Brown’s later works, reflecting the productive interplay between their practices during this period.