Henrietta Myers Miller (1913–1996), known professionally as Peter Miller, was an American

surrealist Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...

painter. Her work is in the permanent collections of the

Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMoA) is an art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at the northwest end of the Benjamin Fr ...

and the

Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Maryl ...

. Miller has been called a "forgotten woman of American Modernism".

Early life and education

Miller, born Henrietta Myers, was raised in

Hanover, Pennsylvania Hanover is a borough in York County, Pennsylvania, southwest of York and north-northwest of Baltimore, Maryland and is north of the Mason-Dixon line. The town is situated in a productive agricultural region. The population was 16,429 at the ...

where her family owned a horse farm. They also co-owned a newspaper and a shoe company. She attended the Arlington Hall Junior School for Women after which she studied painting Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.

Career

In 1934, Miller traveled to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

where she met

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

Henri Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known prima ...

, and Juan Miró. Miró greatly influenced Miller's painting style during the 1930s and 1940s. Miller married artist C. Earle Miller in 1935. She took his last name and began signing her work using the name Peter Miller to avoid disclosing her gender. She first used the name 'Peter' during her exhibition at the Art Gallery of the Museum of New Mexico. Miller had solo exhibitions at

Julien Levy Gallery Julien Levy (1906–1981) was an art dealer and owner of Julien Levy Gallery in New York City, important as a venue for Surrealists, avant-garde artists, and American photographers in the 1930s and 1940s. Biography Levy was born in New York. Aft ...

in 1944 and 1945. Her work was included in ''The Women,'' a June 1945 exhibition at Peggy Guggenheim’ s Art of this Century Gallery that featured over thirty women artists. Others featured in the show included

Lee Krasner Lenore "Lee" Krasner (born Lena Krassner; October 27, 1908 – June 19, 1984) was an American abstract expressionist painter, with a strong speciality in collage. She was married to Jackson Pollock. Although there was much cross-pollination betw ...

and Nell Blane. Miller and her husband lived in

Chester County, Pennsylvania Chester County (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Tscheschter Kaundi''), colloquially known as Chesco, is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in the De ...

, and

Española, New Mexico Española is a city primarily in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, United States. A portion of the central and eastern section of the city is in Santa Fe County. Founded as a railroad village some distance from the old Indian town of San Juan de lo ...

. Their ranch in Española bordered the

San Ildefonso Pueblo San Ildefonso Pueblo (Tewa: Pʼohwhogeh Ówîngeh ’òhxʷógè ʔówîŋgè"where the water cuts through" ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States, and a federally recognized tribe, established c. 130 ...

which was inhabited by the

Tewa people The Tewa are a linguistic group of Pueblo Native Americans who speak the Tewa language and share the Pueblo culture. Their homelands are on or near the Rio Grande in New Mexico north of Santa Fe. They comprise the following communities: * ...

. Miller's work was greatly inspired by the Pueblo and Indigenous cultures. Miller and her husband gifted their Miró painting, ''Horse, Pipe and Red Flower (Still Life with Horse)'' to the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 1986.

Death

Miller died in Pennsylvania in 1996. Her husband died in 1991. The couple, who had no children, left their Chester County, Pennsylvania property consisting of 250 acres to the Brandywine River Museum and Conservancy and gifted their property in Española to the San Ildefonso Pueblo. The Millers bequeathed funds to the Philadelphia Museum of Art which were used to acquire art.

Notable collections

* ''Untitled'', 1960s, Philadelphia Museum of Art * ''Dragonfly, Snake, and Turtle'', 1968, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts

Notable exhibitions

* '' The Women,'' Peggy Guggenheim's Art of this Century Gallery

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Peter 1913 births 1996 deaths Artists from Pennsylvania People from New Mexico 20th-century American painters Abstract expressionist artists American abstract painters American contemporary painters 20th-century American women painters Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts alumni