Painting
Object number2007.131.146
Artist
Peter A. Contis
(died 1973)
Artist
Helen P. Contis
(died 2004)
Date1974
MediumAcrylic; Paper
Credit LineGift of Helen Contis
DescriptionAcrylic painting on paper. Man holding black horse by red and black reins. Green plant with black bottom on right; white house accented with blue and red, and woman and small child in background.Dimensions11.5 x 9.85 in. (29.2 x 25 cm)Signed"Peter and Helen Contis / 1974" lower right, in white.
InscriptionsBack has inscription in Greek in pencil: "Peter had painted a horse and man so Helen made a similar painting and put his house in Clahokerasia and his mother (Christina) in the painting with the horse and man (Peter).
Historical NotesThis painting is part of a large collection of paintings and sketches by Peter and Helen Contis. 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.
On View
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