Painting
Object number2007.131.157
Artist
Peter A. Contis
(died 1973)
Date1973
MediumAcrylic paint; canvas
Credit LineGift of Helen Contis
DescriptionAcrylic painting on canvas. Blue sky background. Top left: White House with American flag flying on roof; fountain in front with trees and a flower garden with red, yellow, orange, and blue flowers. Bottom left: Schenley Fountain; four rows of trees and three rows of yellow; pink and white flowers. Center: Greek column with possible dark orange torch at top, bisects top left and top right portions of painting. Top right: Parthenon; ruins around bottom with black shrubs accented with white dots. Bottom right: Greek columns and ruins atop base and steps leading down to walkway and trees. Dimensions16 x 20 in. (40.6 x 50.8 cm)Signed"P.A. Contis" lower right corner, in white.
InscriptionsBack: on top right, handwritten notes in blue ink; primarily in Greek, with places in painting written in English.
MarksManufacturer's mark engraved on back "Fredri 8" and "10".
[This entry may be mistakenly copied from previous catalog record.]
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.
Related person
Helen P. Contis
(died 2004)
On View
Not on view
1999
