Butterflies in Blue
Object number2007.131.16
Artist
Peter A. Contis
(died 1973)
Date1962-1973
MediumAcrylic; board; paper; glass; metal
Credit LineGift of Helen Contis
DescriptionAcrylic painting on board. Two large, multicolored butterflies in center accented with white dots. Multiple pom-pom shapes at top; fluffy white flower with stem in center, between butterflies. Smaller puffy flowers of yellow and red on lower half of painting. Multi-colored dotted border. Blue background. Dimensions19.5 x 1.375 x 15.375 in. (49.5 x 3.5 x 39.1 cm)Signed"P.A. Contis" in white, lower right corner on art.
Historical NotesThis painting is part of a large collection of paintings and sketches by Peter and Helen Contis. Butterflies float in a garden of flowers with a background of royal blue. Peter would go to Highland Park Reservoir in the spring when flowers bloomed and there were a lot of butterflies. Peter would also capture them in a jar, paint them and then release. Peter would outline the composition in few thin, barely visible pencil lines, then paint complete picture from left to right. Butterfly is perfect symmetry, which is thought to have an eternal stillness and a free spirit. The cocoon that housed the butterfly's implicit radiance and harmony lay within the ugliness of the city. Steel mills are surrounded by trees and flowers (that add unity and fulfillment of the whole). The symmetry is aligned with the idea that all God's creations are in perfect form. This is in the 1960's when butterflies became a symbol of the youth culture. Peter Contis emigrated to Pittsburgh in 1910 and began working in the restaurant business with his brothers. Peter later returned to his homeland of Greece and met Helen in 1928; they married three months later. Moving back to Pittsburgh, Peter eventually opened a restaurant called the Neon Grill in 1932, while Helen raised their three children. Nearly thirty years later, the restaurant was closed and razed, allowing the Contis' to realize their talent in art. A religious man all his life, Peter began painting landscapes, both of Pittsburgh and Greece, and other still lifes, focusing on God's perfect affection in nature: his buildings are symmetrical and colors are vivid. Helen's talents were not revealed until after Peter's death in 1973, when she began to paint poetically the landscapes and still lifes on her own. Helen died in 2004.
Related person
Helen P. Contis
(died 2004)
On View
Not on view
