Keith Rocco

Historical Art Capturing the Past

24 October, 2017 - 1 February, 2018

Reception and Artist Talk Tuesday, October 24, 6:30 p.m.

As one of the most important historical artists working today, Keith Rocco’s career and work has been likened by curators and historians to those of the great genre artists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, from Meissonier, DeNeuville and Detaille to Frederic Remington and Howard Pyle. His paintings can be found in both museum and private collections here and abroad where it takes its place alongside the great historical artists of the past.

In conjunction with his current exhibition at the Army and Navy Club, we invite you to join us for an evening with Keith. Rocco on Tuesday, October 24 at 6:30 pm as he looks to the conception of historical art as we know it today, from Meissonier to Frederic Remington. Mr. Rocco will explain the traditional creative methods employed both by these past masters and in his own current works. The presentation will be full of artwork with conversation about painting, artifact collecting and historical research. Tickets are $15 per person and includes a reception with wine and light hors d’oeuvres. For reservations, contact Membership at 202-355-0505.

The work that goes into one of Rocco’s canvasses is prodigious. Because he never puts brush to canvas without exhaustive research, he finds he must begin his planning months and occasionally years before he may start a painting. This work often requires the help of professional historians and museum curators worldwide. Detectives for information thought to be lost to time, they often help in unusual ways. The small cup of earth on his studio shelf, for instance, was sent to confirm the color of the soil at Jamestown Colonial site.

The result of all this research and work has been gold for Rocco’s art. In 1985 Rocco was proclaimed by the French magazine Uniformes, as an “artist in the tradition of Remington and Detaille.” His works currently hang in every major collection of historical art in the country and several abroad. These include the Andrew Mellon Foundation, the Pentagon, the Atlanta Historical Society, the House of Representatives, Gettysburg National Park, the City of Fredericksburg, Virginia, the National Guard Heritage Collection, the U.S. Army War College and numerous private collections.

In style, subject matter, quality and inspiration, Keith Rocco’s work evokes the masters of narrative, historical art: N.C. Wyeth, de Neuville and Pyle. An American painter and storyteller, Rocco has continued their legacy, creating visually stunning works which capture the drama of history, recording with care and nuance the details of his vision. It is a vision that has moved him through a lifetime to become one of the country’s most sought after narrative painters today.

Organized in partnership with the Army and Navy Club Special Events Committee.

www.KeithRocco.com