VIRGINIA CONROY

(American, 1922-2006)

OLETA'S HAT

Watercolor, Gouache and Graphite on Paper

24½ x 18½ Inches

Signed Lower Right, 'V. Conroy' and Dated 1985

Exhibited: Carmel Art Association, 1983

 

This early California Woman Modernist was born in New York and moved to Los Angeles as a child. From 1942-44, she studied at The Chouinard Art Institute before moving to the Monterey Peninsula where she opened a studio in Carmel-by-the-Sea. For over sixty years, she painted there beside her husband, the artist Eldon Dedini.

 

Over the course of her long career, Virginia Conroy exhibited widely and with success and was the recipient of numerous prizes, medals and juried awards. Her work is held in private and public collections including the permanent collections of The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art of The Monterey Peninsula Museum of Art

 

Selected List of Exhibitions and Awards

 

Solo Exhibitions:

1953 Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, CA

1961 Brunn Gallery, San Francisco, CA

1966 Monterey Peninsula Museum of Art, Monterey CA

1981 Pat Carey Gallery, Women's Caucus, San Francisco CA

1982 Carmel Art Association Gallery, Carmel CA

 

Group Exhibitions:

1949-50, 1952 Los Angeles Museum of Art, Los Angeles CA Centennial Exhibition

1951 Denver Art Museum, Denver CO

1954 Pennsylvania Academy, Penn. Annual Exhibition

1959-1967 San Francisco Museum of Art, San Francisco CA (‘67, 85th, last annual)

1963-1968 San Francisco Art Institute Bank, Traveling Shows: (Fred Martin)

1962 Seattle World's Fair, “Artists Look At Peace)

1963 DeYoung Museum of Art, San Francisco CA

1964 Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco CA

 

Awards:

1963 San Francisco Museum of Art, S.F. CA, Recommended for Purchase

1966 Monterey Peninsula Museum of Art, Monterey CA 1st prize, One Man Show

1975 Monterey County Art Annual, Monterey CA 1st prize, Best in Show (Fred Martin)

1979 Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History, PG. CA 1st Prize, W.C. Annual