Salvatore Del Deo: A Storied History

This is public reception for the exhibit that runs through October 22.

17 year-old Salvatore Del Deo, whose parents had emigrated from Italy to Providence, R.I., arrived in Provincetown in 1945 with a dream to be an artist.  72 years later, this exhibition at Cape Cod Museum of Art (CCMoA) shows how he successfully realized that dream.  In this show, a variety of Del Deo’s painting styles reflect his vision of the Provincetown landscape, his love for his parent’s homeland in Italy, and the social influences that shaped his life.

Del Deo has been honored with the Cape Cod Museum of Art’s MUSE Award for outstanding contributions to the artistic community.  “As he has spent much of his career honoring the lives of others, the museum is privileged to have this opportunity to pay tribute to his remarkable life and continuing creative endeavors through this exhibit,” said Edith (Deede) Tonelli, director of CCMoA.

Del Deo was an initial supporter of the founding of CCMoA with Harry Holl in the 1980’s and has continued his passionate support of the museum and many other cultural organizations on the Cape.

A student of Provincetown impressionist Henry Hensche, Del Deo’s plein air paintings capture the light, water, and sky with a rich color palette.  In a style that ranges from the realistic to the abstract, Del Deo has painted all the familiar scenes of his life at land’s end – the sea, dunes, the fishemen.

In a grouping of paintings we see his colorful and emotional landscapes, all of which depict specific locations, but most of which express more about the mood and energy of the place than the exact details of the site.

“In his “homage” series to those lost in the shipwreck of the Patricia Marie in 1976, Del Deo has created portraits of those lost at sea, and honored their memory in an almost haunting, iconic tribute to all those courageous fisherman who daily face the excitement and dangers of the sea.

The artist’s life was committed to painting and the community.  He opened a restaurant, Sal’s Place, to as he said, “keep him in paint.”  Known for his generous hospitality, homemade wine and extraordinary community involvement, Sal and his wife, writer Josephine Couch, became beloved members of the Provincetown Community.

Del Deo’s work has been on exhibition many local galleries, as well as in the National Portrait Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, Harvard University, Williams College Museum of Art, and others.  He is represented by the renowned Berta Walker Gallery.