Wiveca Rubinow had a very special way of painting the nature she was so passionate about. Within nature, Wiveca saw its inherit design qualities, it’s perfect balance, it’s mystical beauty. Her paintings carry a Mid Century design aesthetic that still feels powerfully contemporary today. Wiveca was born in 1920 in Stockholm, Sweden. As a young adult she moved to Paris where she studied art under Henri Matisse. She came to the Napa Valley of California after marrying Syndey G. Rubinow in the late 1940s. In the late 1950s they moved back to Sweden for 12 years, where she created several of the works included in this show.
In early 1970 they moved back to Calistoga. Wiveca made her living as an artist by showing her works at galleries in Calistoga, Mendocino (Ruth Carlson Gallery) and Yountville (Depot Gallery). She was known to her friends as “Vickie” and signed her works with the moniker “Vico”. In 1983 their only son, Peter Tillberg, died of rheumatoid arthritis. In 1986, Wiveca moved to Westport, CA where she owned an art studio on Main Street. She continued painting and teaching art until her death in 1994.
