Ralph Du Casse

Ralph Du Casse was born in Paducah, Kentucky in 1916. He attended the University of Cincinnati (BA 1940) and University of California, Berkeley (MA 1948). In addition, he studied with Hans Hofmann in New York and attended California College of Arts and Crafts (MFA 1950). Ralph’searly paintings ranged from a loose, gestural abstraction to a predominantly linear style rooted in Cubism and resembling the early work of Diebenkorn. His paintings of the 1960s and 1970s were dominated by simpler, thinly stained abstract forms with sources in Oriental philosophy,  although some had figurative elements. Du Casse taught at University of California, Berkeley, California College Arts & Crafts, and California School of Fine Art, and through the 1970s was chairman of the art department at Mills College in Oakland, CA. His works can be found in the collections of MoMA, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, MAM, Oakland Museum, and Virginia Museum of Fine Art.