John F. Peto Studio Museum

ABOUT

This is the home and studio of John Frederick Peto, the nineteenth century still–life painter and master of the trompe l’oeil style. Following a multi-year preservation project completed in 2011, the Peto-designed house, studio, and gardens are now presented as they looked during his lifetime. Visitors can compare the very furniture and artifacts that Peto owned with the paintings and photographs in which they appear.

SPECIAL RESOURCES

_{Self-portrait of Peto posed near the staircase in his studio. Courtesy John F. Peto Museum.}

Where winding Toms [River]
glides gently to the Bay,
On Island Heights—a cottage may be seen
There artist lived—of unassuming way,
In snug retreat did pleasures know serene.

— Samuel Callan, friend of John F. Peto, excerpt from a poem written in memoriam

John Peto (1854–1907)

John Frederick Peto is recognized by the art world as an American master of the trompe l’oeil or “fool the eye” school of still-life painting. He was born in Philadelphia in 1854, went to the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in 1877, and exhibited there that same year. The artist created his works in Island Heights, NJ in virtual obscurity during his lifetime. However, today, the work of this significant 19th-century American artist can be found on the walls of major art museums across the country even though his work was overlooked for many years. William Harnett’s signature was forged on the best Peto paintings. This accounts for the fact that many art historians even today are unaware of his importance.

_{Old Souvenirs by John F. Peto, c. 1881-1901. Oil on canvas, 26 3/4 x 22 inches. Collection Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, Photograph Peter Horree/Alamy Stock Photo.}

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Born and trained in Philadelphia, John F. Peto was a successful painter specializing in still-life, often using the illusionistic style known as trompe l’oeil (French for “fool the eye”). In 1889, Peto retreated from the bustling Philadelphia art scene and moved to Island Heights with his wife Christine in search of a quieter life devoted to his art and family. They chose the community of Island Heights, New Jersey, a small town on a bluff above the Toms River that had been developed as a Methodist Camp Meeting Association resort. Peto designed their home, a 2 ½ story Shingle-Style structure on an irregular plan that was completed in 1890 with the studio added the following year. In Island Heights the artist pursued his painting and photography, while also raising a daughter and playing coronet in the town’s Camp Meeting band. Following Peto’s death in 1907, he and his paintings fell into obscurity. Members of the Peto family lived in the home for the next 100 years, making some architectural changes to the house but retaining many furnishings.

The John F. Peto Studio Museum is dedicated to preserving the legacy of the artist–celebrating the history of his life, family, and work while examining the human experience during the complex historical period in which Peto lived. Surrounded by objects from the Museum’s permanent collection, visitors develop a deeper understanding of the artist’s world and daily life. This collection includes paintings by Peto, period furnishings and artifacts original to the house, including art that Peto and his wife collected. There is an archive of family records, ephemera, and historic photographs, some by Peto himself. The artists’ easel, painting tools and many of the objects he depicted on his canvases are in the studio, re-creating his working atmosphere. The meticulously restored house and studio are now maintained as a working museum, inspiring and challenging diverse audiences of all ages, fostering educational opportunities in the arts, and serving as a partner in the community. Island Heights, a New Jersey State and National Register Historic District, retains many of the cottages, churches and other amenities built Methodist community.