
Untitled
<p>California painter Jay DeFeo is best known for her colossal work <em>The Rose</em>, which contains nearly 2,000 pounds of pigment. She worked briefly with photocollage in 1958 as she was beginning The Rose, and she returned extensively to photography for a five-year period after the first exhibition of her painting in 1969. DeFeo often photographed, drew, and collaged the same simple object for several years. In one series from 1971—73, she concentrated on an old shoe that she had given to her dog, photographing it at close range to capture the full extent of wear and discoloring from teeth marks, dried saliva, and tough use. Through such serial repetition, she depicted the refuse of the artist's studio with obsessive care.</p>
Catalogue
- Year
- 1971
- Medium
- Gelatin silver print
- Dimensions
- Image/paper: 14.9 × 21.8 cm (5 7/8 × 8 5/8 in.); Mount: 21.5 × 25.3 cm (8 1/2 × 10 in.)
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Artist
- Jay DeFeo
Artist

Painting
Painter, sculptor, and jewelry maker Jay DeFeo was born Mary Joan DeFeo in Hanover,New Hampshire, in 1929, but was raised predominantly in the San Francisco Bay Area.She showed an interest in art as a teenager, which was fostered by her high school artteacher, and she ultimately went on to study art at the University of California, Berkeley,where she earned her BA and MA in 1950 and 1951 respectively. She was granted afellowship shortly after completing her graduate studies, allowing her to spend a year anda half in Europe (between 1951 and 1952) to study prehistoric painting in France andSpain, as well as architecture and Renaissance art in Italy, specifically Florence.
Full artist profile →More
More by Jay DeFeo
Untitled
1982 · Photocopy cut-and-pasted on colored paper
van der Weyden
1980 · Pencil on paper
Untitled
1980 · Pencil and acrylic on paper
Untitled (Tripod)
1976 · Cut paper with acrylic, oil crayon, ink, pencil, and pressure-sensitive tape pinned to paper
Cygnus (Loop System No. 3)
1975 · Acrylic, graphite, charcoal, watercolor, ink, oil pastel, paper, and tape on hardboard, two panels
Untitled
1975 · Cut-and-pasted gelatin silver prints with pencil on matboard wrapped in plastic
Record
Verified by WattsOS- Artist
- Jay DeFeo
- Year
- 1971
- Medium
- Gelatin silver print
- Dimensions
- Image/paper: 14.9 × 21.8 cm (5 7/8 × 8 5/8 in.); Mount: 21.5 × 25.3 cm (8 1/2 × 10 in.)
- Watts ID
- WW-1971-111985
Source
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Source
- aic
- Reference
- View at source
- Status
- verified





