Peter Blume

Background

Blume, born on October 27, 1906 in Smarhon, Russia (present-day Belarus) to a Jewish family, emigrated with his family to New York City in 1912; the family settled in Brooklyn.

Education

After a conventional education in New York City's public schools, he studied painting at the Art Student Educational Alliance, the Art Student's League, and the Ecole des Beaux Arts.

Career

In 1932 and 1936 he held Guggenheim fellowships. His winning of the Carnegie International Prize in 1934 for his painting South of Scranton (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City) made him the youngest artist to be so honored. In addition to some murals done between 1937 and 1943 for the Public Buildings Administration of the United States Treasury, Blume's production consists of a small but far more important group of easel paintings including such works as Light of the World (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York City), The Eternal City (Museum of Modern Art, New York City), and The Rock (Art Institute of Chicago). He died in New Milford, Connecticut, on November 30, 1992.

Achievements

• His major recognition came in 1934 with a first prize for South of Scranton at a Carnegie Institute International Exhibition. The painting was inspired by a trip across Pennsylvania in an old car that required frequent repair. Eternal City (1934–1937) was politically charged, portraying Benito Mussolini as a jack-in-the-box emerging from the Colosseum; as a one-man, one-painting exhibition, it excited considerable attention from critics and audiences.

Membership

In 1948, Blume was elected into the National Academy of Design as an Associate member, and became a full member in 1956.

References

• Peter Blume
• Peter Blume: Nature and Metamorphosis