Discussing Dee Dann Paintings On The 20th Anniversary Of Her Death

2021 marks a tragic anniversary in New Haven History. 20 years ago, in June 2001, local artist Dorris “Dee” Dann was murdered in her home by her son’s girlfriend. Dann left a legacy of paintings around town of scenes of New Haven landmarks. Some were of the city, centered around various landmarks, and some were of the landmarks themselves.

In the case of Robller Winery, Dee was commissioned by Lois Mueller to paint the winery in 1990. In the center of the painting are the old white house and barn with “Robller Vineyards and Winery” painted across the roof of the barn. If you are standing at the tasting bar in the winery, you might mistake the barn for the winery, but the winery is actually located in the top right portion of the painting and looks pretty insignificant in relation to the house, barn and vineyards. Lois Mueller is pictured on the front porch of the house working on a quilt, which was Lois’ passion. Out in the vineyards, Bob Mueller is standing and pointing while one of Bob’s friends drives a tractor through the rows of grapes. The Mueller’s three daughters are portrayed in various areas of the canvas. Grandkids are also pictured, but it is not easily determined the identities of the various figures since 20 years has blurred memories.

Bob pointed to three figures working at the winery, and mentioned that one of them is his son, Gerry. Dee Dann’s style of painting was quite whimsical and is often compared to Grandma Moses for the primitive style with exaggerated perspectives, especially that of buildings and the scale of objects portrayed. Her humans often have more feminine-like features. The portrayal of Bob almost looks like he’s wearing lipstick and rouge.

Another signature aspect of Dann’s paintings was that she always included a hot air balloon in her work as a nod to Pepsi’s annual balloon race. All of Dann’s works have a magical and storytelling quality that is wrapped around the figures and buildings in the paintings. Hopefully, we can continue to document the memories from some of our local townspeople about the backstories that they might have played as a cast member in Dee Dann’s storied canvases.