Peter Blume: A Closer Look
Look closely at Peter Blume’s dream-like painting The Rock and consider how world events and the artist’s life experiences inspired the creation of this epic work. Use the questions and activities provided to reflect on and respond to the events of your time and place through artmaking.
Peter Blume and his family emigrated from Russia to New York when he was a child. They were among the many people fleeing Europe to escape the rise of fascism in the early 20th century. Blume showed talent as an artist from a young age and took art classes at several different schools. As a young man, he worked odd jobs until he was able to support himself as an artist. During the Great Depression (1929–40), Blume was one of about 10,000 artists employed under the Federal Art Project (FAP; 1935–43), an agency run by the federal government to fund the arts. Blume was one of the artists chosen to paint murals for post offices and other federal buildings. It was during this time that he began developing his unique artistic style.
