Jane Peterson

Jane Peterson was born “Jennie Christine Peterson” in Elgin, Illinois in 1876.  She began her formal art studies at the Pratt Institute of New York City under Arthur Wesley Dow.  Before her 1901 graduation, Peterson taught classes in painting at the Institute.  She next studied with Frank Vincent DuMond in Boston.  She saved enough money to travel abroad to continue her schooling. Overseas, Peterson studied first with Frank Brangwyn in London and then Joaquin Sorolla in Madrid.  Peterson’s return to the United States was recognized with shows in 1909 in both Boston and New York.

Peterson taught at the Art Students League of New York between 1913 and 1919.  Peterson painted with John Singer Sargent, Maurice Prendergast, Childe Hassam, Joaquin Sorolla and Louis Comfort Tiffany.  She painted in Europe, Turkey and Africa.

Peterson was recognized for masterfully blending her academic training with impressionist and post impressionist styles.  She had a strong sense of design and a bright palette. Her brushwork was bold and confident.

After marrying in 1925, Peterson devoted most of her time to painting floral subjects.  The artist painted in her beautiful gardens at her estate in Ipswich, New York.  In 1946, she wrote a how-to book on painting flowers---“Flower Painting”.

In her lifetime, Jane Peterson had over 80 one person shows. She was a Fellow at the prestigious National Academy of Design and a member of many art organizations, including The American Watercolor Society, The Allied Artists of America, The National Association of Women Artists and the Pen and Brush Club.

Jane Peterson died at an old age in1965.