Signed lower right, "Di Gesu", for Victor Di Gesu (American, 1914-1988); further signed and titled verso, and bearing original exhibition label. A substantial figural oil showing Victor di Gesu's wife, the artist Janet Ament, with a white shawl over her knees and seated cross-legged in front of a large ficus. A major work by this notable California Fauve and long-time member of the Carmel Art Association who exhibited widely and with success from the 1960s through the 1980's. Winner of the Prix Othon Friesz, Victor di Gesu first attended the Los Angeles Art Center and the Chouinard Art School before moving to Paris where he studied with Andre L’Hote and Yves Brayer at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière. While in France, Di Gesu exhibited extensively, including at the Louvre, the Exposition des Artistes Étrangères, the Grand Palais of the Salon d'Automne and the Salon des Arts Décoratifs. Moving to Spain, he attended Barcelona's Escuela de Bellas Artes before furthering his studies at Studio Hinna in Rome. On his return to California, he worked beside notable American Modernists including F. Tolles Chamberlain and Maynard Jepson. Already a gifted colorist, Di Gesu combined his classical training with research into the developing scientific field of color theory, allowing him to paint with a consistently vivid, yet harmonious, color palette. His mature works, while reminiscent of Matisse and Gauguin, retain a verve and spontaneity that remains uniquely his own. A prolific artist, he was the recipient of numerous medals and juried awards, both in the United States and France. Back in California, Victor di Gesu continued to exhibit widely and with success, including at the San Francisco Museum of Art, the San Francisco Art Association, the Monterey Peninsula Museum of Art, the Carmel Art Association, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.