Ralph Della Volpe, 93 and still painting

MILLBROOK  — At the age of 93, Millbrook artist Ralph Della Volpe is alert, delights in discussing current events and still paints daily in his studio in the woods behind his home. The studio, up a slight hill, has skylights to provide light to paint under, and, slightly removed from house and road, the tranquility to paint uninterrupted. He said, proudly, that he and his son built the studio together. His son, also a painter, died at the age of 40 from a brain tumor. 

Della Volpe has seen a lot in his life time, having fought in World War II. Sitting in his living room, the oldest part of the 300-year-old house, he talked about serving in combat all through Europe: Brussels, Paris and Germany. Before entering the service, he attended the National Academy of Design. After serving, he took advantage of the G.I. Bill, and attended the Art Students League.

“I started drawing around the age of 11. I’ve been immersed in art throughout my life”, he said. 

His home is filled with his paintings. In his studio, there are many more, some still in progress. He sometimes works on three different canvases at a time.

Della Volpe married his wife, Helen, and they had three children: one son and two daughters. Art is never an easy way to make a living, so Della Volpe was happy to come to Millbrook, where he worked at Bennett College until its demise in 1977. Upon leaving the college, the Della Volpes bought the house where he still lives.

They traveled to many places, bringing the family dogs with them. In these places, he would sketch, and take notes. A favorite place to go was the beach. Later, these preliminary findings would result in finished works of art. His training was academic, he said, but later he became more interested in color and composition. 

“Your painting changes as you acquire different experiences to put down on canvas.” 

He can work from sketches, notes and sometimes, memory.

While teaching at Bennett, he also did a fair amount of moonlighting: gardening, house painting, even serving as night watchman at the school. Once in a while, he would sell a painting at a gallery.

“Art is”, he states, “working with chaos and making order. You’re always on guard for something to use.” 

At Bennett, he taught three days and painted for two days. He still remembers it as a magical place to be, with so many changes going on, the vitality of the students and the world at that time. He also painted at night, sometimes into the early morning hours. He still paints at night, but in concession to his age thinks he may, as winter comes, go to the studio only during the day.

He has recently accepted a small measure of help, but wants to hold on to his independence. He also has foregone having a dog as a pet, because dogs require a lot of care which he feels he can’t really adhere to. Dogs, after all, need to be walked and cleaned after, but he misses the companionship. His wife of 62 years, Helen, died in 2010.

Other concessions to advanced age include the discovery of ways to do things differently and compensating for lost agility. It’s the knack of survival, “the knack of getting through“ he said. “But I still have the same sensations that don’t fail me. I may be tired, here in the house, but when I go to the studio, the tiredness disappears.”

So this winter,  Della Volpe may or may not be found in his studio at night, but regardless, he will surely be found hard at work — or pleasure — in his studio by day. That’s when the light comes from the skylight, and from the vibrant colors on the canvas he is working on.

Della Volpe is currently exhibiting his work at the Millbrook Library with artists Emily Fuller and Laura Hammond.