GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The following essay is from the 1982 publication Dallas Collects American Paintings: Colonial to Early Modern: An Exhibition of Paintings from Private Collections in Dallas.
John Frederick Peto is frequently ranked as the primary follower of William Harnett, but he should, in fact, be recognized as a highly individual artist who turned Hartnett's influence toward different expressive ends. Born in Philadelphia the son of a gilder and dealer in picture frames, Peto has been described as self-taught, but in actuality he enrolled as a student of the Pennsylbania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1878 and exhibited there between 1879 and 1887. The greatest influence on his work, however, came from Harnett, with whome he was friendly before Harnett's departure for Europe in 1880. He lived in Philadelphia until 1889 when he moved to Island Heights, New Jersey, which remained his home until his death. Peto's lack of success in the Philadelphia art world caused him to become a professional cornet player in Island Heights, but he never abandoned painting, and up until his death he worked with a wide variety of still life subjects in a distinctive style featuring soft, poetic light, a powdery paint texture, and a somewhat simplified or generalized approach to form. Gradually his work became more moody and introspective with a subjective overtone differing from the work of other tromp l'oeil artists. Since he worked in relative isolation and never attained the renown of Harnett, his name was forgotten and his work over the years was confused with that of Harnett. Only through scholarship in the mid to late twentieth century has his contribution been isolated and given full recognition.
Adapted from
Steven A. Nash, "John Frederick Peto (1854-1907)", in Dallas Collects American Paintings: Colonial to Early Modern: an exhibition of paintings from private collections in Dallas, ed. Robert V. Rozelle (Dallas, TX: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, 1982), 87.
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SAAM~Learn more about John Frederick Peto from the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC
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General Description
The following essay is from the 1982 publication Dallas Collects American Paintings: Colonial to Early Modern: An Exhibition of Paintings from Private Collections in Dallas.
John Frederick Peto is frequently ranked as the primary follower of William Harnett, but he should, in fact, be recognized as a highly individual artist who turned Hartnett's influence toward different expressive ends. Born in Philadelphia the son of a gilder and dealer in picture frames, Peto has been described as self-taught, but in actuality he enrolled as a student of the Pennsylbania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1878 and exhibited there between 1879 and 1887. The greatest influence on his work, however, came from Harnett, with whome he was friendly before Harnett's departure for Europe in 1880. He lived in Philadelphia until 1889 when he moved to Island Heights, New Jersey, which remained his home until his death. Peto's lack of success in the Philadelphia art world caused him to become a professional cornet player in Island Heights, but he never abandoned painting, and up until his death he worked with a wide variety of still life subjects in a distinctive style featuring soft, poetic light, a powdery paint texture, and a somewhat simplified or generalized approach to form. Gradually his work became more moody and introspective with a subjective overtone differing from the work of other tromp l'oeil artists. Since he worked in relative isolation and never attained the renown of Harnett, his name was forgotten and his work over the years was confused with that of Harnett. Only through scholarship in the mid to late twentieth century has his contribution been isolated and given full recognition.
Adapted from
Steven A. Nash, "John Frederick Peto (1854-1907)", in Dallas Collects American Paintings: Colonial to Early Modern: an exhibition of paintings from private collections in Dallas, ed. Robert V. Rozelle (Dallas, TX: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, 1982), 87.
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