'Expressionist Seascape' by James Joseph DeMartis, New York Art Students League, L’Accademia Di Belle Arti Di Firenze

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Signed lower right, 'DeMartis' for James Joseph DeMartis (American, 1926-1996) and painted circa 1965.

Born in Queens, New York, James … Read more Signed lower right, 'DeMartis' for James Joseph DeMartis (American, 1926-1996) and painted circa 1965.

Born in Queens, New York, James Joseph DeMartis served with distinction in World War II and was decorated at the Battle of the Bulge. He subsequently attended painting classes at New York's Museum of Modern Art (1946-47) and, later, at the Art Students League of New York. He then enrolled at the California School of Fine Arts in Santa Monica, California until 1949, before leaving t study in Europe in 1950. He settled in Florence, Italy where he attended L’Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze (1950-54). While continuing to study painting, he participated in several group and one-man shows in Italy and Switzerland.

In 1956, DeMartis returned to New York at the height of the American Abstract Expressionist movement. He settled with his new family in Brooklyn and, after participating in a series of grass-roots galleries opened with fellow artists, he opened the Armory Gallery and studio in Manhattan. He also exhibited in other Manhattan galleries and at the National Arts Club.

In 1961, De Martis was awarded the prestigious Emily Lowe Award for Painting. This led to to shows at the Ward Egglestone, ROKO, Pierantonio and Artemis West galleries from 1962-68. He then returned to Europe to participate in a group show in Florence. Upon his return, he opened the Brownstone Gallery in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn, where he exhibited his own and others’ works until 1988.

James De Martis exhibited widely and with success including at one-man shows in Tokyo, Brooklyn, New York, Sarasota, Florida, San Francisco and Santa Fe.

Select Exhibitions:

1953 Brodighera, Italy
1954 Galerie an der Reuss, Lucerne, Switzerland
1955 La Casa di Dante, Florence, Italy
1956 Walden School, New York, New York
1957 Bottega 57 Gallery, Brooklyn, New York
1960, 61 Hicks Street Gallery, Brooklyn New York
1960 Heights Casino, Brooklyn, New York
1961 Ward Eggleston Gallery, New York, New York
1962 Ray Gallery, Brooklyn New York
1962 Pietroantonio Gallery, New York, New York
1962,3,5,7 Armory Gallery, New York, New York
1965 Brooklyn Arts Gallery, Brooklyn, New York
1966,9 Brooklyn Heights Association
1967 Roko Gallery, New York, New York
1970,3,4,5,8,9,83 Brownstone Gallery, Brooklyn, New York
1972 Artemis East Gallery, New York, New York
1975 Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, New York
1977 Marcoleo Gallery, New York, New York
1978 Long Island University, Brooklyn, New York
1989,91,92 Gallery Gion Tokyo, Japan
1994 Private show, Sarasota, Florida
1995 Private show, San Francisco, California
1995 Private show, Copake, New York
1996 Washington and Jefferson College, Washington, Pennsylvania
May, 2018 Retrospective show, Ashawagh Hall, East Hampton, New York See less