Born in Los Angeles, California, Peter Adams has done many commission portraits and plein-air landscapes and has been active in numerous Los Angeles area art associations, particularly in resurrecting the California Art Club in 1993, which he served as President.

He studied at Otis Art Institute, the Art Center College of Design, and Lukits Academy of Fine Art which he served as president from 1993 and had the Club offices on his property. He is a signature member of the Pastel Society of America, the Oil Painters of America, and Plein-Air Painters of America. He has lived in Pasadena in a home where his studio is located.

His work was included in a 1997 exhibition "East Meets West, at the Springfield, Massachusetts museum. He is an honorary member of the American Society of Classical Realism Guild of Artists.

Source:
Art of the West
Southwest Art

Contemporary American artist Peter Adams was born in Los Angeles on August 27, 1950 and received his training at Art Center College of Design, Otis Art Institute, and Instituto de Bellas Artes, San Miguel de Allende. However, it was not until he enrolled at the Lukits Academy of Fine Arts in Los Angeles that he finally found the traditional artistic philosophies he so admired. At the Lukits Academy, Adams spent seven years in diligent formal training, eventually becoming the personal apprentice to the renowned mural, landscape and portrait painter Theodore N. Lukits (1897-1992).

From his years with Lukits, Adams gained a heightened appreciation for Oriental objects and antiquities. At the Lukits Academy it was typical for students to study still-life compositions that consisted of original sculptures and porcelains from the various Chinese dynasties that were part of the Lukits personal collection. This interest later led to his traveling throughout Asia, and in 1980 Adams was the first American artist to travel and paint unescorted through the People's Republic of China. His fascination for Asia gained him great acclaim when, in 1987, he was the only American artist to travel and paint with the Mujahideen rebels in Soviet-occupied Afghanistan. Today, Adams combines Eastern design concepts with the Western sense of depth through atmosphere.

Adams is a Signature Member of the California Art Club, Pastel Society of America and Plein Air Painters of America, as well as a Master Signature Member of the Oil Painters of America.

Since 1993 Adams has served as president of the prestigious California Art Club, which was established 1909 and is one of the largest and most active professional arts organizations in the country. Under his leadership, the club's roster has grown from 80 members to more than 2,000 at present. Today, the California Art Club is recognized as a leading proponent in the current national traditional art movement.

He serves on the Board of Directors for the Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena, Calif., Pasadena Museum California Art, and is on the Advisory Board of Directors at the Academy of Art College in San Francisco, as well as for the American Society of Portrait Artists in Montgomery, Alabama. In addition, he is an elected Associate Guild Member, Honorary Emeritus of the American Society of Classical Realism in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

In May of 1997 Peter Adams was the recipient of the Gold Crown Award for Visual Art presented by the Pasadena Arts Council. Also in 1997, he co-founded the California Art Academy and Museum in Pasadena, California, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit institution designed to assure the continuation of high standards in traditional fine art. In 2007 the Autry National Center awarded Peter Adams with the John J. Geraghty Award for the advancement of traditional fine art in the American West. Also in 2007, Adams was presented with the Gold Medal for "best painting" by his artist peers at the California Art Club's "96th Annual Gold Medal Juried Exhibition." Additionally in 2007, Adams became the first artist commissioned by the historic Pasadena Tournament of Roses to create the "Pasadena Rose," to help raise funds for children's arts programs.

In 2009, Adams won the Lifetime Achievement Award from "Fine Art Connoisseur" magazine at the California Art Club's "98th Annual Gold Medal Juried Exhibition."

Contemporary American artist Peter Adams was born in Los Angeles in 1950. Since 1993 Adams has served as president of the historic California Art Club, which was established in 1909 and is one of the largest and most active professional arts organizations in the country. Under his leadership, the Club’s roster has grown from 80 members to nearly 3,000 at present. Today, the California Art Club is recognized as a leading proponent of the current national Realist Art Movement. Peter Adams is represented by American Legacy Fine Arts, Pasadena, California; and Waterhouse Gallery, Santa Barbara, California. Work by Peter Adams has been exhibited at museums throughout the United States. Some of the museums include: Autry Museum of the American West, Los Angeles (including 16 years in the “Masters of the American West Exhibition”); Bennington Museum, Vermont; California Center for the Arts, Escondido; Carnegie Art Museum, California; Cody Museum, Wyoming; Forbes Galleries, New York; Frederick R. Weisman Museum, Malibu; Haggin Museum, California; Hilbert Museum of California Art; The Irvine Museum, California; Laguna Art Museum, California; Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County; Pacific Asia Museum, California; Pasadena Museum of California Art; Phippen Museum, Arizona; Santa Paula Museum, California; Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art, Pennsylvania; Springville Museum of Art, Utah; and the USC Fisher Museum of Art. His works are in prominent collections including Carnegie Art Museum, Oxnard; Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, Los Angeles; Forbes Magazine Collection, New York; Haggin Museum, Stockton, CA, Pacific Asia Museum, Pasadena, CA; Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art, Loretto, PA; Stephen’s College, Columbia, MO, University California Irvine Institute and Museum of California Art. Peter Adams has served on the Boards of California Art Club; Pacific Asia Museum; Pasadena Museum of California Art; Academy of Art University; and the American Society of Portrait Artists. He is a Signature Member of the California Art Club; Signature Member, Pastel Society of America; Emeritus Member, Plein Air Painters of America; Master Signature Member, Oil Painters of America; Associate Guild Member, Honorary Emeritus, American Society of Classical Realism; Laguna Plein Air Painters Association and the Southern California Pastel Society. His works have been widely published in newspapers and magazines such as the “Los Angeles Times,” “Pasadena Star-News,” “American Artist,” “American Art Collector,” “American Art Review,” “Art of the West,” “Fine Art Connoisseur,” “Plein Air Magazine,” “Western Art Collector,” and “Southwest Art,” as well as in a long list of books such as Painting California: Seascapes and Beach Towns by Jean Stern & Molly Siple, Landscape Painting: Essential Concepts and Techniques for Plein Air and Studio Practice by Mitchell Albala, From Sea to Shining Sea: A Reflection of America with essays by Jean Stern, John Cosby & Gil Dellinger, Published by Haggin Museum, 2004; and Leading the West by Donald J. Haggerty, Published by Northland, 1997 among others.