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Donald Roller Wilson: American, b. 1938

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Donald Roller Wilson American, b. 1938

  • Works
  • Biography
  • Selected Public Collections
  • Exhibitions
  • Art Fairs
  • News
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    • Donald Roller Wilson, Cat with olive on head, 1980
      Donald Roller Wilson, Cat with olive on head, 1980
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    • Donald Roller Wilson COOKIE RAN FROM THEM, 1989 Oil on canvas in artist’s frame 8 x 16 inches 20.3 x 40.6 cm Framed: 12 1/2 x 20 1/2 inches 31.8 x 52 cm
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      Donald Roller Wilson
      COOKIE RAN FROM THEM, 1989
      Oil on canvas in artist’s frame
      8 x 16 inches
      20.3 x 40.6 cm
      Framed: 12 1/2 x 20 1/2 inches
      31.8 x 52 cm
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      %3Cdiv%20class%3D%22artist%22%3EDonald%20Roller%20Wilson%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22title_and_year%22%3E%3Cspan%20class%3D%22title_and_year_title%22%3ECOOKIE%20RAN%20FROM%20THEM%3C/span%3E%3Cspan%20class%3D%22comma%22%3E%2C%20%3C/span%3E%3Cspan%20class%3D%22title_and_year_year%22%3E1989%3C/span%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22medium%22%3EOil%20on%20canvas%20in%20artist%E2%80%99s%20frame%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22dimensions%22%3E8%20x%2016%20inches%3Cbr/%3E%0A20.3%20x%2040.6%20cm%3Cbr/%3E%0AFramed%3A%2012%201/2%20x%2020%201/2%20inches%3Cbr/%3E%0A31.8%20x%2052%20cm%3C/div%3E
  • Biography
    Donald Roller Wilson, SHE LOOKED UP, 1980/5
    Donald Roller Wilson, SHE LOOKED UP, 1980/5

    Donald Roller Wilson (b. 1938) was born in Houston, Texas and is currently lives and works in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Roller Wilson is a Gothic storyteller with the phenomenal technique and precision of an old master, animating his paintings with finely wrought clothed chimpanzees, dogs, and cats, wooden matches, dill pickles, asparagus stalks, olives, and cigarette butts. He creates characters like Cookie the Baby Orangutan, Jane the Pug Girl, Jack the Jack Russell "Terror," Loretta the Actress Cat, Miss Dog America, and Patricia the Seeing Eye Dog of Houston. Each spring from the artist's hyper-vivid imagination into lengthy caption fantasies and onto canvases that require an enormous amount of time to complete, all painted in vivid detail, reminiscent of the 16th century Dutch masters.

    Working in oil on linen, Wilson’s paintings combine theatrical lighting, dark, velvety backgrounds, and jewel-like precision to conjure surreal, narrative scenes that merge humor, mystery, and melancholy. The artist personally prepares his canvases and custom carves elaborate gilded frames, treating each work as a complete object. Long, handwritten captions or inscriptions often accompany his compositions, deepening the sense of a dreamlike fable unfolding within a meticulously constructed world. His characters, which reappear across decades, form an interconnected mythology that blends Southern Gothic storytelling with painterly virtuosity.

    Wilson’s work is represented in major museum collections including the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Brooklyn Museum, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, and the Art Institute of Chicago, among others. Critically acclaimed for both its technical mastery and eccentric vision, his art has been described as “old master painting in the service of whimsy,” capturing the tension between devotion and absurdity, reverence and play. Through this unique fusion of craftsmanship and imagination, Wilson has secured a singular place in contemporary American painting.

  • Selected Public Collections

    Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, New York
    Chicago Art Institute, Chicago, Illinois
    The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, New York
    Bank of America, San Francisco, California
    Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden at the Smithsonian Institute, Washington DC
    Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
    Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas
    Blanton Museum of Art, Austin, Texas
    Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas
    Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri
    Wichita Art Museum, Wichita, Kansas
    Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, Little Rock, Arkansas
    Racine Art Museum, Racine, Wisconsin
    New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, Louisiana
    Sheldon Museum of Art, Lincoln, Nebraska
    Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, San Diego, California

  • Exhibitions
    • 55 Years

      55 Years

      Isn't That Long Enough? Jun 26 – Aug 14, 2025
      Featuring paintings, works on paper, sculpture, film, and archival ephemera from the SFMOMA Library, and SFAI archive, this ambitious exhibition showcases museum-quality works by contemporary and historical artists, illustrating Berggruen...
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    • Berggruen Gallery in East Hampton

      Berggruen Gallery in East Hampton

      55 Main Street East Hampton, NY 11937 May 14 – Sep 12, 2021
      Berggruen Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of an exhibition space in East Hampton for the 2021 summer season. The gallery space is located in the heart of East Hampton Village at 55 Main Street. Berggruen Gallery’s special "pop-up" will be on view May 14 — September 30, 2021. Hours: Monday-Wednesday, by appointment; Thursday-Sunday, 11am-5pm.

      John Berggruen first opened his eponymous gallery in downtown San Francisco in the spring of 1970. Five decades later, the gallery has executed more than 800 major exhibitions, participated in significant domestic and international art fairs such as Art Basel Miami Beach, and exhibited at the Art Dealer's Association of America's The Art Show, since the fair's inception, for the past 33 years. A cornerstone of the West Coast art world, Berggruen Gallery is proud to deepen our roots on both coasts of the country with this exciting East Coast venture.

      Berggruen Gallery will present a curated selection of Modern and Contemporary paintings, sculptures, and limited-edition prints. The presentation will reflect the gallery’s ongoing dedication to juxtaposing historical works with those from the contemporary canon. The gallery will feature a dynamic and diverse group of internationally-acclaimed artists, including renowned Post-War American painters like Richard Diebenkorn, Helen Frankenthaler, and Wayne Thiebaud, as well as many important contemporary artists artists such as Diana Al-Hadid, John Currin, Beatriz Milhazes, Odili Donald Odita, and Jonas Wood. Berggruen Gallery is excited to present a unique breadth of work—transcending subject matter, composition, medium, and technique—for the summer of 2021 in East Hampton.

      Artists
      Diana Al-Hadid | John Alexander | Stephan Balkenhol | Christopher Brown | Bruce Cohen
      Michael Craig-Martin | John Currin | Richard Diebenkorn | Helen Frankenthaler
      Isca Greenfield-Sanders | Stephen Hannock | Jasper Johns | Paul Kremer | Alicia McCarthy
      Tom McKinley | Beatriz Milhazes | Odili Donald Odita | David Park | Joel Shapiro
      Wayne Thiebaud | Stanley Whitney | Lucy Williams | Donald Roller Wilson | Jonas Wood
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    • Donald Roller Wilson

      Donald Roller Wilson

      Dec 1 – 23, 2019
      Berggruen Gallery is proud to present selected paintings from 1977-2014 by Donald Roller Wilson as a part of the artist's eponymous exhibition with the gallery, on view for the month of December 2019.

      Donald Roller Wilson was born in Houston, Texas and currently lives and works in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Roller Wilson is a Gothic storyteller with the phenomenal technique and precision of an old master, animating his paintings with finely wrought clothed chimpanzees, dogs, and cats, wooden matches, dill pickles, asparagus stalks, olives, and cigarette butts. He creates characters like Cookie the Baby Orangutan, Jane the Pug Girl, Jack the Jack Russell "Terror," Loretta the Actress Cat, Miss Dog America, and Patricia the Seeing Eye Dog of Houston. Each character springs from the artist's hyper-vivid imagination into lengthy caption fantasies and onto canvases that require an enormous amount of time to complete, all painted in vivid detail, reminiscent of the 16th century Dutch masters. Roller Wilson's recognizable works hang in the Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY; Chicago Art Institute, Chicago, IL; Whitney Museum, New York, New York; Bank of America, San Francisco, CA; and Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden- Smithsonian Institute, Washington, D.C.
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    • The Bear Necessities

      The Bear Necessities

      Feb 2 – Mar 17, 2012
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    • The Art of Giving

      The Art of Giving

      Dec 9, 2010 – Jan 19, 2011
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  • Art Fairs
    • The San Francisco Fall Show

      The San Francisco Fall Show

      San Francisco, California Oct 15 – 19, 2025
      Berggruen Gallery is delighted to participate in the 2025 San Francisco Fall Show. Please visit us at The Festival Pavilion at The Fort Mason Center. Tickets are required for all show dates. Exhibiting artists to be announced.
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    • Art Basel Miami Beach

      Art Basel Miami Beach

      Miami Beach, Florida Dec 4 – 9, 2024
      2024 will mark Berggruen Gallery’s twenty-second consecutive year participating in Art Basel Miami Beach, since the fair’s inception.
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    • Dallas Art Fair

      Dallas Art Fair

      Dallas, Texas Apr 4 – 7, 2024
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    • FOG Design + Art

      FOG Design + Art

      San Francisco, California Jan 18 – 21, 2024
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    • The San Francisco Fall Show

      The San Francisco Fall Show

      San Francisco, California Oct 11 – 15, 2023
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    • Art Basel Miami Beach

      Art Basel Miami Beach

      Miami Beach, Florida Dec 3 – 6, 2015
      John Berggruen Gallery is pleased to announce our participation in Art Basel Miami Beach. Please visit our booth D03 at the Miami Beach Convention Center.
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    • FOG Design + Art

      FOG Design + Art

      San Francisco, California Jan 14 – 18, 2015
      John Berggruen Gallery is pleased to announce its participation in FOG Design and Art at Fort Mason Center, Festival Pavilion, San Francisco. A preview benefiting...
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    • Art Basel Miami Beach

      Art Basel Miami Beach

      Miami Beach, Florida Dec 4 – 7, 2014
      John Berggruen Gallery is pleased to announce our participation in Art Basel Miami Beach. Please visit our booth D03 at the Miami Beach Convention Center....
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    • ADAA The Art Show

      ADAA The Art Show

      New York City, New York Mar 4 – 9, 2014
      Now celebrating its 26th year, The Art Show, organized by the Art Dealers Association of America (ADAA) features thoughtfully curated solo, two-person, and thematic exhibitions...
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    • Art Basel Miami Beach

      Art Basel Miami Beach

      Miami Beach, Florida Dec 5 – 8, 2013
      John Berggruen Gallery is pleased to participate in Art Basel Miami Beach 2013, at the Miami Beach Convention Center. If you are in the area,...
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    • Art Basel Miami Beach

      Art Basel Miami Beach

      Miami Beach, Florida Dec 3 – 7, 2008
      John Berggruen Gallery is pleased to announce our participation in Art Basel Miami Beach. Please visit our at the Miami Beach Convention Center. Hope to...
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    • The San Francisco Fall Antiques Show

      The San Francisco Fall Antiques Show

      San Francisco, California Oct 18 – 21, 2007
      Berggruen Gallery is delighted to participate in the 2007 San Francisco Fall Show. Please visit us at the Festival Pavilion at The Fort Mason Center....
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    • ADAA The Art Show

      ADAA The Art Show

      New York City, New York Feb 21 – 26, 2007
      John Berggruen Gallery is pleased to participate in The Art Show organized by the Art Dealers Association of America.
      View More
  • News
    • Best Group Shows of the Summer from London to the Hamptons

      Best Group Shows of the Summer from London to the Hamptons

      Cultured Magazine July 14, 2017
      Botánica , a new group exhibition at Berggruen Gallery, takes its name from the herbal medicine shops that once defined San Francisco's Mission district. Conceived...
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  • Inquire

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Contact

Berggruen Gallery
10 Hawthorne Street
San Francisco, CA
94105

 

 

Business Hours:
Mon – Fri, 10AM – 5PM

 

 

info@berggruen.com
Tel:+1.415.781.46.29


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