Contemporary American artist Peter Adams is esteemed for his beautiful Impressionist paintings. He uses oil paints to create vivid landscapes and figurative works that saturate the canvas with color. Adams is known for combining the Western artistic tradition with Eastern influences picked up from his extensive travels.
Adams was born and raised in California. He studied at the ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, California; the Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles; the Instituto de Bellas Artes in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico; and the Lukits Academy of Fine Arts in Los Angeles.
Four of Adams’s seven years at the Luktis Academy were spent as an apprentice to Theodore Lukits, a renowned Impressionist painter. He was also introduced to Chinese porcelains and sculptures, which sparked an interest in Asian art that spurred him to travel. In 1981, he traveled and painted unescorted through the People’s Republic of China, becoming the first American artist to do so. He was also the only American artist to travel with the mujahideen rebels of Afghanistan in 1987.
Adams became the president of the California Art Club in 1993, a role he has served in ever since. Established in 1909, the organization only had 80 members at the time. Under his leadership, the membership has grown to around 3,000.
In 2007, he earned the John J. Geraghty Award for advancing traditional fine art as well as the gold medal for the best painting from his fellow members at the California Art Club. In 2009, Fine Art Connoisseur presented Adams with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Adams is represented by American Legacy Fine Arts in Pasadena. His works are in the collections of the Carnegie Art Museum in Oxnard, California; the Haggin Museum in Stockton, California; the USC Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena, California; and Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri.
On 1stDibs, find a collection of Peter Adams’s paintings.
Going Home; Tehachapi, California
By Peter Adams
Located in Pasadena, CA
Acquired by the gallery directly from the artist Signed "Peter Adams" on lower right UNFRAMED: 20" x 24" FRAMED: 26.75" x 30.75" x 1.75" Artist Statement "The last rays of the su...
Oil, Panel
Sierra Grandeur; 5th Lake View of Mt. Robinson and Palisade Glacier
By Peter Adams
Located in Pasadena, CA
Provenance Acquired by a Private Collector, Encino, California from American Legacy Fine Arts in 2005 American Legacy Fine Arts acquired the work directly from the artist in 2004 Si...
Oil, Panel
Parting Mist; Kalalau Lookout, Kauai
By Peter Adams
Located in Pasadena, CA
Artist Statement "Painting in Hawaii is always a challenge because the weather and atmospheric conditions are constantly changing. This scene of the Kalalau Lookout had it been paint...
Oil, Panel
Pools of Hahamongna; Arroyo Seco
By Peter Adams
Located in Pasadena, CA
Provenance Acquired by the gallery directly from the artist. UNFRAMED: 30" x 40" FRAMED: 39" x 48.5" x 3" Artist Statement “For this large painting I did a number of preparatory ...
Oil, Panel
Commerce along the Pearl River
By Peter Adams
Located in Pasadena, CA
Provenance Acquired by the gallery directly from the artist Exhibited China's Crown Jewel; Recent Paintings by American Artists, American Legacy Fine Arts, June 21 – July 28, 2019 ...
Oil, Panel
Peaceful Passage; Batiquitos Lagoon, Carlsbad, California
By Peter Adams
Located in Pasadena, CA
Provenance Acquired by the gallery directly from the artist Signed "Peter Adams" on lower right. Description Peter Adams' flare for combining real places with dreamlike visions is ...
Oil, Panel
Fallen Trees; Strawberry Peak
By Peter Adams
Located in Pasadena, CA
Acquired by the gallery directly from the artist Signed "Peter Adams" on lower left UNFRAMED: 20" x 16" FRAMED: 27" x 23" x 2.5" Exhibited "The Diverse Environments of the Arroyo...
Oil
Morning Clouds Hovering Below Mount Blanca; Trinchera Ranch, Colorado
By Peter Adams
Located in Pasadena, CA
Artist Statement "While staying at the Forbes' Trinchera Ranch in southern Colorado, I was intrigued by seeing this heavy cloud layer every morning hovering below Mt. Blanca's impressive peak of 14,351 feet. The cloud layer created an atmospheric division between the cool shadows below and the bright, warm light above." ―Peter Adams Description The artist's particular bold, broad brushwork magnifies a sense of epic in this pristine scene. The painting exemplifies the American West as an expansive land of free spirit and boundless possibilities. The colors are opulent and there is an intriguing sense of mystery about the subject, a Shangri-la feeling. The presentation of the painting makes a grand entrance statement. Provenance Acquired by the gallery directly from the artist Gallery Note The artist began the painting in 2006 and completed it in November of 2017. Exhibited Maxwell House...
Oil, Wood Panel
$4,900
Christmas Eve at City Hall from the Terri and Jerry Kohl Stairway, Dorothy Chand
By Peter Adams
Located in Pasadena, CA
Acquired by the gallery directly from the artist UNFRAMED: 18" x 16" FRAMED: 24.5" x 22.5" x 1.5" Signed: "Peter Adams" on lower left Exhibited Downtown Impressions: Plein Air Pe...
Oil, Panel
Brilliant Reflections; Rocky Point, Carmel, California
By Peter Adams
Located in Pasadena, CA
Provenance Acquired by the gallery directly from the artist Signed "Peter Adams" on lower right Artist Statement "While on a recent painting trip along the 101 Highway to Carmel I stopped twice to paint at one of my favorite spots, Rocky...
Oil, Panel
Quiet Pool; Arroyo Seco
By Peter Adams
Located in Pasadena, CA
Acquired by the gallery directly from the artist UNFRAMED: 12" x 16" FRAMED: 18.5" x 22.5" x 1.5" Exhibited The Diverse Environments of the Arroyo Seco: Paintings from the Californ...
Oil, Panel
Afternoon Glow, Cathedral Cove, Anacapa Island
By Peter Adams
Located in Pasadena, CA
Provenance Acquired by the gallery directly from the artist Signed "Peter Adams" on lower right Description This plein air oil painting depicts the uniqueness of Anacapa Island in the chain of Southern California’s Channel Islands archipelago. Anacapa was formed by volcanic eruptions. Its desolate landscape is dominated by a distinct geology of steep precipices and jagged rock formations. From this elevated viewpoint, Adams portrays the location known as Cathedral Cove with its outcropping spires and massive kelp beds that hug the shoreline. The peak of the middle island of Anacapa is visible in the distance, and further out to sea is Santa Cruz Island...
Oil, Panel, Linen
Philosophers' Wall; Shasta Caves
By Peter Adams
Located in Pasadena, CA
Artist Statement "As I am fascinated with lighting, I often carry colored lights with me when I paint in order to illuminate scenes. This work was pain...
Oil, Panel
Faithful; St. Malo Beach, Oceanside
By Peter Adams
Located in Pasadena, CA
Provenance Acquired by the gallery directly from the artist Artist Statement “I am particularly interested in unique lighting effects and how these effects reflect, refract, diffuse...
Pastel
Pastoral Morning; Redding
By Peter Adams
Located in Pasadena, CA
Provenance Acquired directly from the Artist by the gallery Signed "Peter Adams" on the bottom right Description While a guest on a private ranch in Redding, California artist Pete...
Pastel
Golden Cove Breakers; Rancho Palos Verdes
By Peter Adams
Located in Pasadena, CA
Provenance Acquired by the gallery directly from the artist. Signed "Peter Adams" on lower right. Artist Statement “At the time of big surf in the late afternoon, it is wonderful t...
Oil Pastel
Mountain Landscape (Pyrenees) 1928
By Fritz Lindström
Located in Stockholm, SE
Fritz Lindström (1874–1962) Mountain Landscape (Pyrenees), 1928 oil on panel unframed 15.5 × 24 cm (6.1 × 9.4 in) framed: 26 × 34 cm (10.2 × 13.4 in) signed on the reverse Frame by...
Oil, Wood Panel
$15,113
H 22 in W 18 in
Sur la plage - Impressionist Figures in Landscape Oil Painting by Alfred Stevens
By Alfred Émile Léopold Stevens
Located in Marlow, Buckinghamshire
Signed and dated figures in seascape oil on panel by Belgian impressionist painter Alfred Emile Leopold Stevens. The work depicts an elega...
Panel, Oil
$1,800
H 15.75 in W 19.5 in D 1.5 in
'Landscape with Figures'; Early 20th Century Oil Painting by Arthur Schneider
Located in Oklahoma City, OK
This 15.75" x 19.5" x 1.5" oil paint on panel work by Wisconsin-native artist Arthur E. Schneider depicts what appears to be a family frolicking around a field that overlooks a large...
Oil, Panel
$900
H 8 in W 8 in
"Pond Side (Wisconsin)" - Impressionist Landscape and Still Life, Oil Painting
By Hazel Z Weckbach
Located in Denver, CO
This piece rests at 8 x 8 inches and is framed at 13.62 x 13.62 inches, wired and ready for hanging. Artist Statement: "Subject matter to me is a vehicle for me to explore how I obs...
Oil, Panel
Metsälampi (Forest Pond), 1942
Located in Stockholm, SE
Metsälampi (Forest Pond) is a 1942 oil painting on panel by the Finnish artist Ragnar Ungern, depicting a forest pond with overhanging trees reflected in its still waters. Created in...
Oil, Wood Panel
"Sunset West" (2025) Oil Painting, Colorado Landscape
By Michael Magrin
Located in Denver, CO
Michael Magrin's ( US based) "Sunset West" is an original, handmade oil painting of a sunset above Colorado plains. This piece is framed in a "barn wood" frame and is ready to hang. ...
Linen, Oil, Wood Panel
"On the Horizon" (2025) Oil Painting, Colorado Landscape
By Michael Magrin
Located in Denver, CO
Michael Magrin's ( US based) "On the Horizon" is an original, handmade oil painting of a sunset above Colorado plains. This piece is framed in a "barn wood" frame and is ready to han...
Linen, Oil, Wood Panel
$650
H 9 in W 18 in
"Ray of Hope" by Christopher Clark, Original Oil Painting, Sunlit Landscape
By Christopher Clark
Located in Denver, CO
Christopher Clark's "Ray of Hope" is an original, hand made oil and acrylic painting that depicts a highway with a bright shaft of sunlight shining through pink and blue clouds. Chr...
Oil, Acrylic, Wood Panel
$2,950
H 16 in W 16 in D 2 in
Fortune Favors the Bold by Ginny Williams Still Life Oil Paintig, Black
By Ginny Williams
Located in Atlanta, GA
Fortune Favors the Bold by Ginny Williams is an intimate contemporary still life painted in oil on panel, measuring 16 x 16 inches. This original artwork pairs vibrant florals with g...
Oil, Panel
$5,000
H 22.5 in W 18.5 in D 1 in
Copy of "Wall Street - The Noon Hour" by Felicie Waldo Howell created in 1925
Located in New York, NY
A beautiful copy by an unknown artist, of the original painting "Wall Street - The Noon Hour" originally created in 1925 by the great American artist Felicie Waldo Howell (1897-1968)...
Oil, Wood Panel
"Evening View to the South West" , Oil Painting
By David Grossmann
Located in Denver, CO
David Grossman's (US based) "Evening View to the South West" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a wide open plain of the West with fields of...
Linen, Panel, Oil
$2,600
H 7 in W 12 in
"Autumn Orange Leaves" (2024) By David Grossmann, Original Oil Painting
By David Grossmann
Located in Denver, CO
David Grossman's (US based) "Autumn Orange Leaves" is an oil on linen panel created in 2024 depicting an abstracted birch forest in autumn. About the artist: David Grossmann’s evoc...
Linen, Oil, Panel
Sold
H 50.375 in W 40.375 in D 1.625 in
Ethereal Lights, Electric Fountain; Beverly Hills
By Peter Adams
Located in Pasadena, CA
Provenance Acquired by the gallery directly from the artist. FRAMED: 50.375" x 40.375" x 1.625" UNFRAMED: 40" x 30" Artist Statement "As a young boy, my father o...
Oil