Tag: Art-Historical-Research

Book Publication Update

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Edward E. Boccia

Painter of Nightmares and Dreams

Rosa JH Berland

An intimate journey of discovery of the life and work of American painter Edward E. Boccia.

Edward E. Boccia (1921–2012) is a widely collected yet often overlooked American artist whose compelling pictorial language reveals a vision of universal experience, love, loss, and suffering as well as a deep connection to literature, mythology, and the canons of art history.

During his long career, Boccia developed a new genre of contemporary monumental panel painting that functioned as devotional art while raising questions about ethical, philosophical, and stylistic problems in twentieth-century America. His bold paintings depict longing and desire, grief, and spirituality while remaining deeply connected to the legacy of historical Italian art. In telling the story of an artist in the Italian diasporic community, this book expands the field of American art history, offering a close look at a complex body of work and a riveting life story.

This book is to be published in Spring of 2026 by Hirmer and distributed by University of Chicago Press.

Thank you to our donors including ArtCare Conservation and our private donors many of whom are former friends and colleagues of the late artist.

 

We are also grateful for the support of the development of this project including The National Endowment of Humanities, The John D. Calandra Italian American Institute, CUNY, Queens College, Molloy University, Rockville Centre, New York, Washington University of St. Louis, Saint Louis University Museum of Art and the Saint Louis Museum of Art.

 

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Support the printing of this book’s trifold illustrations through tax deductible donations via Fractured Atlas. 

Talk on Edward Boccia at the Calandra Institute, New York

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Rosa JH Berland will give a talk on March 21st from 6-8 pm on the life and work of the artist Edward Boccia at the Calandra Italian American Institute as part of the Philip V. Cannistraro Seminar Series. The event is open to the public and all are welcome. We are most honored to have the opportunity to share the accomplishments and contributions of this important Italian American artist and teacher.

 

Edward E. Boccia: The Painter of Nightmares and Dreams

Rosa Berland, The Edward E. Boccia Artist Trust

This talk will examine the artist Edward E. Boccia’s (1921–2012) innovative approach to painting and the reception of his work, as well as his connections to his Italian heritage. Born in Newark, New Jersey, Boccia studied at the Pratt Institute and the Art Students League and went on to teach for more than thirty years at the Washington University of St. Louis. Called a neo-expressionist, a modern neo-Renaissance painter, and even a magical realist, Boccia had a practice informed by the great masters as well as the work of twentieth-century modernists such as Max Beckmann and Oskar Kokoschka. What makes Boccia unique is his creation of a pictorial language that synthesized the mid-to-late-twentieth-century experience with motifs and themes from Catholicism, literary criticism, the politics of anti-materialism, and the importance of craft.

Contribute as the Cataloging Project Continues

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The trust conducts an ongoing cataloging of the artist’s work and encourages all owners to share information about any Boccia work in their possession.

We are currently seeking information about the whereabouts of paintings and drawings by Edward Boccia, including the four paintings commissioned by the First National Bank in St. Louis in 1966, photographs or archival information is welcome.

Please contact us with any relevant information.

 

 

Authentication of Artwork

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All buyers of artwork of any medium by Edward Boccia (Ed Boccia, Edward Eugene Boccia, E. Boccia) should be aware that as of 2017, any work offered for sale or purchase on the secondary market is not considered authentic unless the trust has certified in writing the provenance and authenticity.

Please note that the trust is the sole authenticator of any artwork by Edward E. Boccia.  

WE DO NOT PROVIDE MARKET VALUES OR APPRAISALS.

 

 

1. You may request documentation + confirmation from the seller who may have already obtained certification.

 

2. In an effort to maintain transparency, we welcome inquiries from art collectors, dealers, galleries, auction houses, + museums. We are happy to provide information +  authentication as appropriate. For past sales, please also feel welcome to be in touch.

 

3. We will also confirm titles, dates and other information +as part of our effort to maintain ethical transparency + accuracy, we do not charge for this service.

 

The artist kept meticulous records + we are delighted to assist you with your collection research, sale, cataloging, and or your purchase.

 

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Recent Publication about Modernist Painting and Boccia

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Recent article on Boccia and his links to modernist mid century artistic practice and critical reception.“Cezanne’s Apple and Edward E. Boccia Hierarchy, Revolt and Artistic Innovation in 20th-Century America.” by Rosa JH Berland, Ekphrasis (2067-631X) . 2015, Vol. 13 Issue 1, p118-141. 24p

The reconstruction of the twenty-first-century imagination (ideologies that shape our “imagined world”) and aesthetic view through the “authentic” modes of abstraction, conceptualism, and the lens of media and digital technology has led to a new way of understanding and experiencing creativity. While these are certainly new or original critical experiences, there are other types of creativity, ideologies and imaginary worlds that are quite separate, and sometimes polemically opposed to this genre of making and looking. An example of this type of creative visualization and boycotting of the supposedly authentic gesture is the work of the late American artist Edward E. Boccia, who devoted much of his life to a series of panel paintings that take as their subject problems of politics and society, as well as religious experience in the twentieth century. Made between 1956 -2006, the large scale altarpieces represent the phenomenon of figural creativity produced in traditional studio mediums in mid- to late twentieth-century America.

For access to this entire article, please check with your college/university library, local public library, or affiliated institution.

Copyright of Ekphrasis (2067-631X) is the property of Babes-Bolyai-University, Faculty of Theatre & Television.