John Frederick Peto (American, 1854-1907) Old House at Cooper's Point, New Jersey

John Frederick Peto (American, 1854-1907)

Old House at Cooper's Point, New Jersey
Signed "John F. Peto./10.83" l.l.
Oil on canvas, 20 x 30 in. (50.8 x 76.2 cm), in a Newcomb-Macklin Company frame.
Condition: Lined, minor paint losses to l.l. corner, varnish discoloration, stable craquelure, surface grime.

Provenance: Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, September 23-25, 1948, Lot 423; Saul C. LaVine, Brooklyn, New York (purchased from the above sale); by family descent; Sotheby's New York, American Paintings, Drawings & Sculpture, April 16, 2014, Lot 41 (with the present title); to the present owner.

N.B. John Frederick Peto was born and raised in Philadelphia, and attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. He was a classmate of William Harnett and was heavily influenced by him, often painting trompe l'oeil works in a similar style. By the 1870s American tastes and artistic styles were already changing, making Peto's work seem somewhat anachronistic. In fact he supported his family as much as a musician - he played the cornet - as he did with his painting.