Jovan De Rocco (1896-1998), artist and philosopher, was born in Belgrade, Serbia and immigrated to the United States in 1921. As a trained architect in his home country, he found employment in New York City with Lafayette Goldstone, a noted architect. He was later appointed to work for H. Van Buren Magnogle, an opportunity that led to his commission to design the American Embassy building in Tokyo. De Rocco also studied painting and drawing at the Art Students League in New York, which resulted in a Fellowship at MacDowell, where he met his wife of 53 years, Marcia.
During the Depression, De Rocco painted for the WPA. In 1940 he was hired as an art professor at Sweet Briar College in Virginia, where he taught for 18 years before moving to Sanibel Island with Marcia.
