Downtown Pittsburgh

Object number2007.131.10

Date1962

MediumAcrylic; canvas; wood; paper; glass; plastic

Credit LineGift of Helen Contis

DescriptionAcrylic painting on canvas. Cityscape of Pittsburgh. Buildings: white, blue, yellow. Some green areas with potted treed and flowers in bed. Bottom center: Point State Park with fountain. Fort Pitt Museum, Black House, and American Flag on right with two bridges and rivers. Three people sitting on bench and outline of Fort Pitt with blue eye inside to left with two bridges and rivers. Dimensions36.9999 x 1.25 x 30.9999 in. (94 x 3.2 x 78.7 cm)
SignedP.A. Contis in white @ lower center under Ft. Pitt outline
Historical Notes 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.

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