Jane Piper 1916-1991

Abstraction in White

Recognized by critics as one of Philadelphia’s foremost painters and teachers, Jane Piper enjoyed a career that spanned fifty years and included thirty-five solo shows. Known for her abstract still lifes, she has been described as an ‘instinctive individualist’ whose independent spirit characterized her art, education and approach to teaching.

Building on the French modernist tradition of Matisse and Cezanne, Piper gave color precedence over representation. She was interested in spatial organization and in creating space through color. By 1952, her work was growing increasingly abstract, and she began using white as the dominant color of her palette. Piper liked “the spatial sense of brilliance” it brought to her other colors. “I try to create order by cutting out, with white, a part of the chaos I create,” she said in 1978.

Piper studied with Hans Hofmann in Provincetown and with Arthur Carles at the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts. She taught painting and drawing at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in the mid 1950s and the Philadelphia College of Art from 1956-1985. Her works are in numerous collections including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and the National Academy of Design.

Top: Jane Piper

Homage to Matisse, 1958-59

Oil on canvas, 28 x 34 inches

Bottom: Jane Piper

In the Manner of Quita’s Painting by Carles, 1965

Oil on canvas, 28 x 36 inches