The following is from Alfred Drake:

1) Artist's full name: Peter Krasnow, married to Rose (maiden name unknown, update welcomed)

2) Birth place and Date: Born just outside Kiev, Ukraine in 1890, came to the United States in 1908, began his studies at the Art Institute of Chicago (where he met and married Rose).

3) Death date and place of death: Died Nov. 1979, Los Angeles, CA. Memorial held Nov. 18, 1979 at the Hebrew Union College Chapel, Rabbi Cutter - Barbara Karbin, Arranged by Monroe Price.

4) Primary residence of studio: Peter Krasnow, thanks to Edward Weston and his wife, Flora, was able to build his studio on land donated by the Weston's in 1923 that became his address until his death in 1979. His exact address of his home and studio was 4323 Perlita Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90039.

5) Subject matter for which known (landscape, portrait, etc.): His early pencil drawings of his memories of this homeland and his search for universal impressionism of early European scholars, led to expression through use of bronze, later into wood sculpture, and paintings.

6) Style of work (impressionist, realist, abstract, etc.): From his early art in 1923 at the McDowell Club Galleries, to 1925's showing at the Print Rooms in Hollywood, the LA Museum in 1927, showings in Oakland, Seattle and again in Los Angeles in 1928, Peter was the imminent "modern" artist. His showing in 1930 at the Claremont at Scripps College in 1930 eclipsed a turning point where he questioned success. By 1931 Peter and his wife went to France where they spent eight months in Paris then going to ancient Dordogne caves, sketching, merging into wood. He had an exhibit, a one-man show from Feb. 16 to March 3, 1934 at the Galerie Pierre in Paris. Back in Los Angeles in 1935 he had an exhibition at UCLA.

7) Methods: Oil, watercolor, etc.: He hadn't painted from his time back until ten years later, where upon in illness he forced himself to overcome distress, sketching again, merging into vibrant illustrations into pure form and color, finding harmony, symmetry, form, enactment of history, places, immediate association of transcription, experience upon object of his preoccupation.

8) Museums: Laguna Beach, CA

Books where referenced:
Feb. 26--March 23, 1975 - Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Barnsdall Park, Peter Krasnow, A Retrospective Exhibition.

Peter and Rose Krasnow by Marie S. Schwartz, 1964 essay publish in Fullerton, Ca by Designs III Printing 1973

Catalog EXHIBITION by Peter Krasnow, California Palace of the Legion Of Honor, San Francisco, March 8 to April 20, 1931.

The Work of Peter Krasnow, 1907 to 1964 - A Retrospective Exhibition of Paintings, Sculptures, Drawings and Prints, November 17, 1946 to January 14, 1965.

Magnes Museum, November 5, 1977 to January 8, 1978, Berkeley, CA

The Art Digest, September 1930, featured article, Pastel Portrait, "Sadakichi Hartman", article page 22.

Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Barnsdall Park, Feb. 26 through March 23, 1975.

Peter Krasnow was born on August 20, 1886 in a small village in the Ukraine. He was the son of an interior decorator. His father taught him to make is own paint and how to mix colors.

Krasnow moved to Boston in the U.S. in 1908. He first studied at the Art Institute of Chicago while working there in maintenance. In Chicago, he met and married his Rose before, In 1919, moving to New York. In 1922, he and his wife moved to California; Peter built a log cabin on land sold to him by Edward Weston. Quickly he blended into the independent group of California modernists that led by Stanton Macdonald Wright. In 1930 he received a Guggenheim Award which allowed him and his Rose to move to the village of Cazaillac in the Dordogne region of southern France There he painted and enjoyed exhibiting his work. His early work was figurative in capturing the local village scenes.

When his friend Edward Weston urged him to return to Los Angeles in 1935 - after exhibiting his paintings at the Galerie Pierre in Paris. He began to carve the trees he felled in his own backyard. His wood sculptures were often totem-like or segmented unique abstract 'demountables'. Like many of the artists of his generation his works after 1940 became increasingly abstract. His abstract paintings were displayed in Art and Architecture magazine.

Krasnow was a member of the California Art Club. He exhibited at the LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) in 1922 and 1927, at the Oakland Art Gallery in 1928, at Scripps College in Claremont, CA in 1929 and 1964, At Stendahl Art galleries in 1930 and 1940, at the Galerie Pierre in Paris in 1934, at UCLA in 1935 and 1940, an the San Diego Fine Art Gallery in 1939, at the Pasadena Art Institute in 1954, at the L.A. Municipal Art Gallery in 1975, and at the San Francisco Museum of Art in 1976. He also participated in many group shows.

Krasnow's art is in collections of the Oakland Museum, the Pasadena Art Museum, the Students Union at the University of Southern California, the San Francisco Museum of Art, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Skirball Museum of Art and the Temple Emmanuel in San Francisco where he carved the altar.

Krasnow died in Los Angeles on October 30, 1979

Source/Submitted by: Tobey Moss

Peter Krasnow was born on August 20, 1886 in a small village in the Ukraine. He was the son of an interior decorator. His father taught him to make is own paint and how to mix colors.

Krasnow moved to the U.S. in 1908, he first studied at the Art Institute of Chicago. In 1919 he moved to New York, he and his wife moved to California in 1922. Quickly he blended into the independent group of California modernists that included Stanton Macdonald Wright. He lived continually in Los Angeles, except for a four-year period in the South of France between 1930 and 1934. While in France, he worked in a studio in the village of Cazillac in the Dordogne valley, and exhibited in Paris.

Krasnow was both a sculptor and a painter. His early work was figurative, always modernistic with some influences from the Impressionists to the German Realists. Like many of the artists of his generation his works after 1940 became increasingly abstract. As a sculptor he carved directly in wood, his sculptures were often totem like, fantastic abstract expressions. He was creative and prolific for many decades; his works are unique and ultimately recognizable.

Krasnow was a member of the California Art Club. He exhibited at the LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) in 1922 and 1927, at the Oakland Art Gallery in 1928, at Scripps College in Claremont, CA in 1929 and 1964, At Stendahl Art galleries in 1930 and 1940, at the Galerie Pierre in Paris in 1934, at UCLA in 1935 and 1940, an the San Diego Fine Art Gallery in 1939, at the Pasadena Art Institute in 1954, at the L.A. Municipal Art Gallery in 1975, and at the San Francisco Museum of Art in 1976. He also did many group shows in California.

Krasnow is represented in the Oakland Museum, in the Pasadena Art Museum, in the Students Union at the University of Southern California, in the San Francisco Museum of Art, and the Temple Emmanuel in San Francisco where he carved the alter.

Krasnow died in Los Angeles on October 30, 1979