Overview

Known as a key figure in the Bay Area Beat culture of the 1950s, Jay DeFeo (1929-1989) continues to inspire generations of artists with her astonishingly diverse and innovative range of works, including paintings, collages, drawings and photographs.

 

DeFeo's art is included in the permanent collections of Museum of Modern Art, New York, British Museum, London, Centre Pompidou, Paris, The Menil Collection, Houston, Art Institute of Chicago, and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, among many others. DeFeo's works can also be seen in Los Angeles in the collections of Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Museum of Contemporary Art, Norton Simon Museum, UCLA's Hammer Museum, and J. Paul Getty Museum. In 2013, the Whitney Museum of American Art presented Jay DeFeo: A Retrospective, featuring more than 150 seminal works by the artist. On June 28, 2019, the Whitney Museum of American Art opened The Whitney's Collection: Selections from 1900 to 1965 which included DeFeo's monumental work, The Rose.

Works
  • Jay DeFeo, Untitled (Samurai series), 1986
    Jay DeFeo
    Untitled (Samurai series), 1986
    acrylic on paper
    49 7/8 x 38 in
    126.7 x 96.5 cm
    Estate no. E2678

    ⓒ The Jay DeFeo Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
  • Jay DeFeo, Moja, 1987
    Jay DeFeo
    Moja, 1987
    oil on rag board
    13 1/4 x 16 in
    33.7 x 40.6 cm
    Estate no. E1094

    ⓒ The Jay DeFeo Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
  • Jay DeFeo, Untitled, 1973
    Jay DeFeo
    Untitled, 1973
    gelatin silver print
    7 1/4 x 6 inches
    18.4 x 15.2 cm
    Estate no. P0358

    ⓒ The Jay DeFeo Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
  • Jay DeFeo, Trial by Fire, 1983
    Jay DeFeo
    Trial by Fire, 1983
    oil, oil stick and collage on canvas
    96 x 72 1/4 in
    243.8 x 183.5 cm
    Estate no. E2750

    ⓒ The Jay DeFeo Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
  • Jay DeFeo, Untitled (Architecture series), 1983
    Jay DeFeo
    Untitled (Architecture series), 1983
    graphite, acrylic and tape on paper
    17 x 14 in
    43.2 x 35.6 cm
    Estate no. E1512

    ⓒ The Jay DeFeo Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
  • Jay DeFeo, Summer Image #2 (for My Mother), 1983-85
    Jay DeFeo
    Summer Image #2 (for My Mother), 1983-85
    oil, acrylic, enamel and collage on paper mounted on canvas
    67 x 43 1/2 in
    170.2 x 110.5 cm

    ⓒ The Jay DeFeo Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
  • Jay DeFeo, Three Mile Island, #3 (One O'clock Jump Series), 1978
    Jay DeFeo
    Three Mile Island, #3 (One O'clock Jump Series), 1978
    acrylic, charcoal and acrylic medium on paper
    40 x 30 in
    101.6 x 76.2 cm
  • Drawing that depicts an hourglass shape with pointed top.
    Jay DeFeo
    Seven Pillars of Wisdom No. 8, 1989
    charcoal, wax pencil and acrylic on paper
    29 x 23 in
    73.7 x 58.4 cm

    ⓒ The Jay DeFeo Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Exhibitions
Events
Art Fairs