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Label Text Peto was born in Phildelphia, the son of a gilder and picture framer. By the time he was 22 he was listed in the city directory as a painter. He trained very briefly at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, but was primarily self-taught. For many years his paintings were confused with his more famous contemporary, William Harnett. Source: Bulletin, January-February 1976.
Exhibition History"Commitment, Community and Controversy: The Des Moines Art Center Collections," Des Moines Art Center, Jan. 24 - May 10, 1998

"18th and 19th Century American Art from Private Collections," Whitney Museum of American Art, NY, June 27 - Sept. 11, 1972
Published ReferencesRoberta Bernstein, JASPER JOHNS' PAINTINGS AND SCULPTURES 1954-1974, THE CHANGING FOCUS OF THE EYE, UMI Research Press, Ann Arbor, MI, 1985, ref. no.23, ref. pp.87 & 89, b/w ill. no.23

DES MOINES ART CENTER: SELECTED PAINTINGS, SCULPTURES AND WORKS ON PAPER, Des Moines Art Center, 1985, ref. p.171, color ill. pl.XXIII, p.119

John Wilmerding, IMPORTANT INFORMATION INSIDE: THE ART OF JOHN F. PETO AND THE IDEA OF STILL-LIFE PAINTING IN NINETEENTH-CENTURY AMERICAN, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1983, ill. p.239, fig. no.232

"18th- and 19th-Century American Art from Private Collections," Whitney Museum of American Art, 1972, exh. cat. ref. no.53

AN UNCOMMON VISION: THE DES MOINES ART CENTER, Des Moines Art Center, 1998, ref. pp.34 & 222, color detail p.222, color ill. p.223
DimensionsOverall: 40 × 30 1/2 in. (101.6 × 77.5 cm)
Accession Number 1975.34
Classificationspainting
CopyrightPublic Domain
ProvenanceArtist; James M. Bryant, Island Heights, NJ [acquired from the previous, 1902]; Cheston Keyser, Philadelphia, PA [acquired by descent from the previous, 1934]; (Hirschl & Adler Galleries, New York); Mr. and Mrs. Jacob M. Kaplan, New York [purchased from the previous, 1966]; (Berry-Hill Galleries, New York); Des Moines Art Center [purchased from the previous, 1975]
Jack of Hearts
Photo Credit: Rich Sanders, Des Moines
Photo Credit: Rich Sanders, Des Moines
Photo Credit: Richard Sanders, Des Moines
Frederick Carl Frieseke
before 1914
Photo Credit: Rich Sanders, Des Moines
Frederick G. Quimby
date unknown
Photo Credit: Rich Sanders, Des Moines
John Kirsch
date unknown
Photo Credit: Richard Sanders, Des Moines
John Marin
1932
Photo Credit: Rich Sanders, Des Moines
John Koch
1952-1953
Photo Credit: Rich Sanders, Des Moines
Jim Dine
1970
Photo Credit: Rich Sanders, Des Moines
Jasper Johns
1958
Condition photo 11/10/2015
John Gordon
1970