A Landing Along Grand Canal, Venice

Flat strokes of the palette knife define the reflection of forms in the waters of Venice’s Grand Canal. Meanwhile, the abstracted forms of the passengers in the gondola and the palazzos, trees and cathedral beyond them show the dissolution of solid forms in the shimmering light and watery atmosphere of the famous Italian city on the water.

Jane Peterson abandoned the security of a career as an art teacher in favor of travel abroad. Through contact with modernist collectors such as Leo and Gertrude Stein and artists such as Pablo Picasso, she learned a new way of seeing the world. This experience was honed by studies with the Spanish Impressionist painter Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida. Through explorations of Italy, France, Egypt and North Africa, she developed a bold visual language well-suited to representing the exotic locales with which she delighted American viewers back home.