Vita Petersen
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1915
Vita Petersen | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Vita von Simson 1915 Berlin, Germany |
| Died | October 22, 2011 (aged 95–96) New York, New York |
| Known for | Painter |
| Movement | Abstract expressionism |
| Spouse | Gustav Petersen |
Vita Petersen (1915–2011) was an Abstract expressionist painter. She is known for her association with the New York Studio School.[1]
Petersen née von Simson was born in Berlin, Germany in 1915.[2] She had an older brother named Otto von Simson.[3] She studied at the Berlin Academy and the Munich School of Fine Arts.[4]
She fled Germany and immigrated to the United States in 1938.[5]
Petersen settled in New York. She married fellow immigrant Gustav Peterson, with whom she had one child named Andrea Petersen. [6] She studied with Hans Hofmann. Petersen was friends with Mercedes Matter, founder of the New York Studio School.[7] Petersen was both a teacher and a trustee of the school.[5] In the 1960s she was the subject of a series of portraits by Walker Evans.[8] Eventually, Petersen had to transition to painting strictly in black and white due to her deteriorating eyesight. [9]
She exhibited around New York City, including the Betty Parsons Gallery.[7] In 2012 she held her last show Vita Petersen – In Black and White: Her Last Works at the New York Studio School.[5]
Petersen died in New York City on October 22, 2011 at the age of 96.[1]
