DeWitt Clinton Peters

Peters was born in the Army Hospital at Fort McHenry in Baltimore to Emily Peters and Dewitt Peters, an army surgeon who served during the Civil War and later the Indian Wars. In 1859, Kit Carson had dictated his autobiography to Peters’ father, who then had it published. Peters’ brother was the actor and poet William Theodore Peters. He and his brother grew up in various parts of the country as their father was transferred from post to post. By 1880, Peters was in New York City living with his uncle and attending classes at the Art Students League and the National Academy of Design.  

In 1886, Peters and his wife, Adele Bacon Peters, traveled to Paris where he studied at the Académie Julian and the École des Beaux-Arts. While in Europe, he visited England and became friends with John Singer Sargent who also served as his mentor. While in France, he won the bronze medal at the Exposition Universelle in 1889 and exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1888, 1889, and 1891. He also exhibited at the Société des Beaux-Arts from 1894 to 1896. In 1896, he, his wife and their now three children returned to New York, where he earned a living as an artist and illustrator. He exhibited at the National Academy of Design in 1899. By 1908, he had established a studio at 360 West 23rd Street where he taught painting classes.

Peters was a member of the Society of Independent Artists, the Society of American Artists, and the National Academy of Design. Over the course of his career he also exhibited at the Royal Academy in Berlin and the Royal Academy in London. Examples of his work can be found at the Maryland Historical Society, Harvard University, Rutger’s University, and Baltimore City Hall. Peters was an active painter in Baltimore, New York, and Connecticut until his death.