Collection: John Frederick Peto

John Frederick Peto was an American trompe l'oeil painter, largely forgotten until his works were rediscovered alongside those of William Harnett. Although they painted similar subjects and knew each other, their careers diverged.

Both artists mastered trompe l'oeil, a still-life genre that tricks the eye into mistaking painted objects for reality. They adhered to specific rules, such as painting objects at actual size and avoiding edges that might reveal the illusion. The key technique was creating a shallow space and using shadows to suggest depth, further enhancing the illusion. Both artists captivated viewers with a sense of delightful confusion.