Dr. Elizabeth Ferrell, assistant professor of Art History, presented “The Ring Around the Rose: Jay DeFeo’s Circle and Artistic Collectivity in Cold War San Francisco” at the annual College Art Association (CAA) conference in Los Angeles on Feb. 21. Dr. Ferrell explored women artists in post-war America with the “Ambivalences and Appropriations: Some American Artists” panel.

Dr. Ferrell’s paper was derived from her current book project, The Ring around The Rose: Jay DeFeo and Her Circle, which examines the collaborative creative practices that developed during artist Jay DeFeo’s production of “The Rose,” a monumental painting created between 1958 and 1966. The project aligns with her ongoing research on art in the United States since World War II and the interaction between artistic collaboration and interpersonal relationships.