Born Jennie Christine in Elgin, Illinois, she officially changed her name to Jane Peterson in 1909 after her first success as an artist. Her family was of humble background but certainly not poverty stricken. She became famous for a wide range of works from landscapes to still-lives that blend Impressionist and Expressionist movements. As a woman, her life was much more independent and adventurous than those of most of her contemporaries, and she traveled widely to paint including joining Louis Comfort Tiffany on a continental painting expedition in his private railway car.

Peterson does not belong to any particular school of painting, but combined techniques and styles from a variety of teachers and preva...