De Young Selects: July 2026
The De Young Museum is a thrilling visit if you have any free time in San Francisco.
However sometimes it’s hard to get to a museum with all that goes on in the world, so I thought I could bring it to you.
Here are some of my favorite pieces that were on display in July of 2026.
Man Observing Series II , 1984
Viola Frey
Glazen Earthenware and Steel
“It’s like your boss is standing over you when he’s mad.” Cameron said as we were viewing this lovely sculpture by Viola Frey. Looking almost as if taken out of a comic book with its stunning colors and line works around the edges of the piece, Frey created this larger than life sculpture in 13 separate sections. Meaning to gaze back at the viewer, I wonder if the red is supposed to signal authority to the viewer or ownership, but in any case - this sculpture had us feeling like a piece of art ourselves.
Man Observing II is on permanently on display at gallery 005 for your viewing pleasure.
Three Machines, 1963
Wayne Thiebaud
Oil on Canvas
Bucket list painting!
Thrilled to finally see this in person, and I least expected it here! The photo does not do Three Machines justice.
Gumball machines are a classic quintessential American symbol that I feel have been lost to time much like the majority of Americana. What made American capitalism shortly idyllic is now forever cemented work like Thiebaud’s thick brush strokes and vibrant colors. The work is eyecatching, I can’t help but to think of the illusion of consumerism packaged into these three neat machines — almost disguised as a treat.
Three Machines is on permanently on display at gallery 014 for your viewing pleasure.
Superman, 1962
Mel Ramos
Oil on Canvas
Superman’s first comic was in 1938, and in this painting you can feel him land on the Dust Bowl as the Great Depression is still settling in its ruins. Imagine a character like the man of Krypton landing at the tale end of the depression, where Ramos described as a time period where an ordinary person like a true Clark Kent could become a superhero. Superman is the perfect telling of how especially his early comics became a symbol of hope. We tend to forget that before Lex Luthor there was Butch Matson and this is the perfect callback.
Superman is on permanently on display at gallery 014 for your viewing pleasure.
Six-sided Planes, 1937
Balcomb Greene
Oil on Canvas
The plaque of this piece describes these six sided planes to evoke a maritime feel, and a boathouse could greatly benefit from this canvas. How much can we take away but still see the image before us? Despite the vastness included this scene, the composition works quite well. The smaller vertical white rectangles almost like a couple of dock pilings attaching the larger gray hexagon, the vessel, ashore. The forms can transform from top to bottom into different elements, which allows this piece massive fluidity (almost as if it is rocking lightly).
Six-sided Planes is on permanently on display at gallery 010 for your viewing pleasure.
Into the High Country, 2023
Alme Allen
Wood and Stainless Steel
Created from excess wood available after rebuilding a ceremonial house in the Karuk village and sacred site of Ka'tim'îin(meaning “the center of the world”), Into the High Country is such a stunning abstraction of the Karuk Tribe’s celebrations. Your eyes rise up the shining steel path up to where the wood ends and the sky meets. I love that the path is strong, easy to see, and winding to the high country, however it is bolstered in the natural world that we know. I would love to know what type of wood Allen used, it creates such a beautiful shade that contrasts the carvings so beautifully. The plank, when viewed in person is radiant. You have to see this piece before it’s back in the artists’ personal collection.
Into the High Country is on Display in Gallery 1: Rooted in Place: California Native Art, until December 6th, 2026.
New York, January 1939, 1939
Charles Green Shaw
Oil on wood mounted on panel
I absolutely loved the medium of this piece, the cut wood creates structure that feels it would otherwise exist in a dream. Accurately described as melancholy, the song Black Hole Sun comes to mind when I look into this New York portrait. Something that has always stood out to me is the rusted sun’s texture, crisping the gray sky. The rest of the painting is flat, void of any detail — characteristically so. The muted pressure of the setting sun raises the heat of this succulent example of city sorrow.
New York, January 1939 is on permanently on display at gallery 010 for your viewing pleasure.
I hope you enjoyed a digital trip to the museum and can soon visit the De Young.
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Here’s a secret tip! When you go to the De Young: There is an observation tower (that also features Ruth Asawa art in the tower lobby) that features panoramic views of San Francisco and is free to the public. Check it out!
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