Edward Boccia

Artist and poet Edward Boccia began his education in 1939 at the Pratt Institute in New York. He studied there until 1942, when he left school to join the army. He served as a camouflage engineer until the war ended in 1945. Boccia returned to school, this time entering Columbia University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in 1948 and a master’s degree in 1952. He also studied at the Art Students League of New York in 1938 and 1946. While completing his master’s degree, Boccia served as Dean and taught painting and drawing at the Columbus Art School in Ohio. In 1951, he moved to St. Louis, where he became Assistant Dean of the School of Fine Arts of Washington University in St. Louis. He also continued to teach painting. In 1986 he became Professor Emeritus.

Although Boccia first worked in the abstract expressionist mode of the 1940s, he soon moved into a more figurative style. His arrival in St. Louis brought an introduction to the work of Max Beckman, whose style and themes seemed to elucidate many of the issues Boccia had been exploring. He often depicts mythical and Christian imagery in his work, which is included in the collections of the Denver Art Museum, the St. Louis Art Museum, and the Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City, among many others.