Homestead Works #2
Object number2007.131.31
Artist
Peter A. Contis
(died 1973)
Date1962-1973
MediumAcrylic; canvas; paper; glass; metal
Credit LineGift of Helen Contis
DescriptionAcrylic painting on canvas. Multicolored. Across top: houses with St. Mary's church at center. Center across: steel factory; painted company names in white on factory buildings. Bottom across: Homestead High Level Bridge, trains, river with boats (two with American flags) and coal barge, and black trees accented with gold and white dots. Dimensions41.25 x 1.325 x 23.25 in. (104.8 x 3.4 x 59.1 cm)Signed"P.A. Contis" in white, lower right corner on art.
InscriptionsCenter across: steel factory; painted in white on factory buildings, "U.S. Steel" and "M.M. Co."
Historical NotesThis painting is part of a large collection of paintings and sketches by Peter and Helen Contis. Scene of steel mills, houses and church in Homestead, Pennsylvania. St. Mary's Church shown, only one smokestack. Industries are all clear and majestic in Peter's paintings because they are striving towards purification that they haven't yet achieved. No polluted sky like it really was in Pittsburgh during that time. 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 institution
Saint Mary's Church
Related person
Helen P. Contis
(died 2004)
Related institution
United States Steel Corporation
Related institution
M. M. Company
On View
On view
