Edward Boccia

[1] Boccia's work consisted mostly of large scale paintings in Neo-Expressionist style, and reflect an interest in religion and its role in the modern world.

In 1951, he was appointed Assistant Dean of Fine Arts at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, where he taught painting for over 30 years, until his retirement in 1986.

[6][7][8] Boccia's themes are linked to the mystical, occult, and theosophical traditions of modern art including the belief in the messianic role of the artist, seen in the work of the Symbolists, as well as the pictures of Paul Gauguin and Oskar Kokoschka among others.

Other paintings remained hidden in his studio for over fifty years and were uncovered recently by a research project led by the late artist's trust.

Boccia was the subject of numerous solo exhibits and group shows, the most recent being his inclusion in the show" The Ghost Army of World War II, The Salmagundi Club Gallery, New York, New York June 14, 2015 - June 25, 2015" honoring the special battalion of WW II, the Ghost Army, whose artistic ingenuity allowed them to create visual tricks to fool the Nazis into believing the Allied ground power was stronger than the reality.

[27] In addition to these museum collections, a number of commissioned works are on view in religious and public institutions such as the Catholic Student Center at Washington University in St. Louis Archived 2021-04-16 at the Wayback Machine Edward Boccia Post War Expressionist, Calandra Insitute, CUNY, 2024-2025