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Peter Harvey 


Born in Guatemala, of English parents, Peter Harvey first began drawing and painting when he came to the U.S. to attend highschool. He continued his artisitc education at the University of Miami in Coral Gables and later at The Art Student's League in New York where he painted under Will Barnet and Harry Sternberg.

 

Well known in New York as a theatrical designer, the apogee of his theatre career was in 2004 when he was commissioned by the New York City Ballet to redesign "Jewels" which he had originally designed for George Balanchine in 1967. This ballet masterpiece with it's original decor Peter has also recreated for the Marinsky in St. Petersburg, the Semperoper in Dresden and for La Scala Ballet in Milan. Other high-lights of his 30 years in the theatre have been the full-length Balanchine ballet "A Midsummer Night's Dream" for the Zurich Opera Ballet, the original New York and London productions of "The Boys in the Band" and the hit musical "Dames at Sea".

 

Since 1987, Peter devotes his time almost exclusively to the art of painting in the U.S. and France. He works in both oils and watercolors. He has presented four one-man exhibitions in New York City;  "The Unknown Remembered" at Nicholas Davies & Co. (1996), "Other Rooms" at the Hudson Guild (2005), "Finding Venice" at the Emily Harvey Foundation (2012) and "Other Places" at the Hudson Guild (2016). Peter also had a one-man show in Los Angeles (2006) at the Risk Press Gallery entitled "Text/Eros". Peter has exhibited in several group exhibitions in New York at White Columns, the Vincent Lewis Gallery, The Velez Art Center, the N.Y. Historical Society and the Leslie-Lohman Museum over recent years. Internationally he has shown in London at John Martin's on Albemare Street.

 

Peter's professional listings are in "Who's Who in American Art" and in "Who's Who in the Theatre". He has been honored for designs in both television and the theatre. His theatre designs have toured in an exhibition around the world and have been reproduced in publications ranging from textbooks to theatre histories.

 

During the last six years Peter has curated two exhibitions at the Leslie-Lohman Museum in Soho: "Stage Struck", a collection of scenic and costume designs by some 90 artists and most recently (2013), "Paul Thek & His Circle - the 1950's" co-curated with Jonathan David Katz with great success.

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Recent Works

Prices range from $800 -$2500

varying by medium and size

Who's Who in American Art

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Harvey, Peter Francis

Painter, Designer

b. Quiriqua, Guatemala, Jan 2, 1933; US citiizen.

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Degrees Held & Professional Studies:  University of Miami, Fla, BA, 55; studied at Art Students League of  NY.

 

Works in Public Collections: Lincoln Center Library for the Performing Arts, NYC, 1956-2004.

 

Commissioned: Original ballet design for Anthony Tudor, Metropolitan Opera Co., NY ’64; 3 act ballet design for George Balanchine’s “Jewel’s”, Linc Kirstein & NY City Ballet, ’67; full length ballet design for “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, George Balanchine & Zurich Opera, Switzerland, ’78; 4 Balanchine ballets for TV, WNET-PBS, NY ’79; oil portrait for library benefactor, Millis, MA, ’94; Recreated original “67 “Jewels” design for Kirov Ballet, St. Petersburg, Russia, 2000; Semperoper Ballet, Dresden, Germany, 2009,2010; Re-design of Balanchine’s “Jewels”, NYC Ballet, 2004; Recreated original ’67 Jewels” design for La Scala Ballet, Milan, Italy, 2011.

 

Exhibitions: Tops in NY - 10 Designers, Melvin Gallery, Florida Southern College, Lakeland, ’72; solo exhibitions, Southern-Newman Gallery, Gaylordsville, Conn, ’78; The Unknown Remembered, Nicholas Davies & Co., NY, ’96; Text/Eros, Riskpress Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, 2006; group exhibitions, Water Color Today, Creative Arts Workshop, New Haven, CT, ‘923; John Martin Gallery, London, England, ’94; Family Values, White Columns, NY, ’97; Art Group Pride, Vincent Louis Gallery, NY ’98; Working for Balanchine, Gotham Book Mart Gallery, NY ’98; Dance for a City, NY Historical Society, ’99; Other Rooms:Paintings of Interiors, Hudson Guild Gallery, NY, 2005; Images from the Triangle, Leslie-Lohman Foundation Gallery, NY, 2008; Finding Venice, Emily Harvey Foundation Gallery, NY, 2007.

 

Collections Arranged: Lincoln Center Library of Performing Arts, NY; curator, Stagestruck, The Magic of Theatre Design, Leslie-Lohman Foundation Gallery, NY 2007.

 

Professional Position: co-curator with Jonathan Katz exhibit Paul Thek and His Circle - The 1950’s, Leslie-Lohman Gallery, NY, 2013.

 

Teaching: Instructor theatre design, Pratt Institute ’70-’87.

 

Awards: Los Angeles Drama Critic’s Award for Best Set Design of Year 1969; Excellence in Scenic Design, Society Education Television Association, ’78; Residency in Venice, Emily Harvey Foundation, 2011

 

Bibliography: Lynn Pecktal (author), Designing & Painting for the Theatre, Holt-Rinehart & Winston, ’75; Lynn Pecktal (author), Designing & Painting for the Theatre, McGraw-Hill, ’95; Laurie Fitzpatrick (author), History at Ground Zero - paintings by Peter Harvey, Art & Understanding, Vol. 5, No. 5, 7/1996; David Leddick (author), Male Nude now, Universe Publishing, 2008.

 

Memberships: RI Watercolor Society; Samagundi Club; United Scenic Artists

 

Preferred Media: Oil, Watercolor

 

Publications: Auth. Design journals of Peter Harvey - working for Balanchine, Dance Chronicle, Vol. 20, No. 2, Mercel Dekker Inc., NY, ’97, Vol. 20, No. 3,’97 & Vol 21, No. 1, ’98; David Leddick (author), Male Nude Now, Universe Publishing, 2001; Reed Massengill (author), Text/Eros (catalog), 2006.

ith Jonathan David Katz with great success.

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