Bob Pejman (born 1963) is a

contemporary artist Contemporary art is a term used to describe the art of today, generally referring to art produced from the 1970s onwards. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art i ...

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

who currently resides in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. He is notable for his idyllic classical

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an renderings of such locales as

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

Lake Como Lake Como ( , ) also known as Lario, is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy. It has an area of , making it the third-largest lake in Italy, after Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore. At over deep, it is one of the deepest lakes in Europe. ...

, and the

Amalfi Coast The Amalfi Coast ( or ) is a stretch of coastline in southern Italy overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Gulf of Salerno. It is located south of the Sorrentine Peninsula and north of the Cilentan Coast. Attracting international tourists o ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Early years

Bob Pejman was surrounded by art and music from an early age. The son of an operatic composer and a concert musician, he spent his early childhood in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

and then, by way of

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, moved to the

in 1976. Pejman began painting by the age of seven and pursued his art education through high school. However, despite his art instructor's insistence for him to pursue an education and career in art, Pejman decided to enter the field of business management. Upon graduating from

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

and after numerous years of employment at software companies such as

Control Data Corporation Control Data Corporation (CDC) was a mainframe and supercomputer company that in the 1960s was one of the nine major U.S. computer companies, which group included IBM, the Burroughs Corporation, and the Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), the N ...

, Pejman secured a position as Vice President of Marketing at Information Resources, Inc., a global market research company. In 1988, Pejman decided to return to the art world by opening a gallery in

Short Hills, New Jersey Short Hills is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) situated within Millburn, in Essex County, within the U.S. state of New Jersey, and part of the New York metropolitan area. The community is a commuter town for resi ...

called Pejman Gallery Inc. As a result of his direct exposure to fine art and contact with European masters whom he was representing at the gallery, he decided to start painting again. In 1991 he began his two-year formal studies with the

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n artist, Anatoly Ivanov. Later he attended the

Art Students League of New York The Art Students League of New York is an art school in the American Fine Arts Society in Manhattan, New York City. The Arts Students League is known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may study f ...

as well as furthering his studies with the contemporary

Impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

artist, Ovanes Berberian. Among his art instructors, Ivanov influenced Pejman the most by inspiring him to use the techniques of old masters such as

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (6March 147518February 1564), known mononymously as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was inspir ...

and

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), now generally known in English as Raphael ( , ), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of paintings by Raphael, His work is admired for its cl ...

. Employing these techniques, Pejman blends them with

impressionistic Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

colors to achieve a classical but yet

contemporary Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from about 1945 to the present. In the social sciences, contemporary history is also continuous with, and related t ...

style.

Artistic style and influences

Pejman's style from the late 1980s onward can be characterized as

Romantic Realism Romantic realism is art that combines elements of both romanticism and realism. The terms "romanticism" and "realism" have been used in varied ways, and are sometimes seen as opposed to one another. In literature and art The term has long standin ...

or Neo Romantic Realism, which is a style based on

Classical Realism Classical Realism is an artistic movement in the late-20th and early 21st century in which drawing and painting place a high value upon skill and beauty, combining elements of 19th-century neoclassicism and realism. Origins The term "Classic ...

. As described by Sarah Seamark, senior editor of '' Art World News'' in an article on Bob Pejman that was published in the November 2004 issue, "Inspiration for his style, that likens to romantic realism, comes from the

Hudson River School The Hudson River School was a mid-19th-century American art movement embodied by a group of landscape painters whose aesthetic vision was influenced by Romanticism. Early on, the paintings typically depicted the Hudson River Valley and the sur ...

, the classic landscapes of

Thomas Cole Thomas Cole (February 1, 1801 – February 11, 1848) was an English-born American artist and the founder of the Hudson River School art movement. Cole is widely regarded as the first significant American landscape painter. He was known for hi ...

and

Frederic Church Frederic Edwin Church (May 4, 1826 – April 7, 1900) was an American landscape painter born in Hartford, Connecticut. He was a central figure in the Hudson River School of American landscape painters, best known for painting large landscapes, ...

, the utopias of

Maxfield Parrish Maxfield Parrish (July 25, 1870 – March 30, 1966) was an American painter and illustration, illustrator active in the first half of the 20th century. His works featured distinctive saturated hues and idealized neo-classical imagery. The ...

, and above all, from the

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

artist

Lawrence Alma-Tadema Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema ( ; born Lourens Alma Tadema, ; 8 January 1836 – 25 June 1912) was a Dutch people, Dutch painter who later settled in the United Kingdom, becoming the last officially recognised Denization, denizen in 1873. Born in ...

, known for his theatrical paintings of Roman ruins. While the influence of these masters is evident in Pejman's works, it is through his unique arrangement and depiction of the subject matters that he achieves a distinctive style. It is the effect of beauty and solitude together that creates this romantic mood that Pejman wishes to offer collectors of his work." Pejman's style has been likened to theatrical set designs by many art critics. This design element together with his combination of classical painting style and use of contemporary colors make Pejman's works notable in the school of

. Art critic Eileen Watkins, in her review of a Pejman exhibition in ''

The Newark Star Ledger ''The Star-Ledger'' was the largest circulation newspaper in New Jersey. It is based in Newark, New Jersey. The newspaper ceased print publication on February 2, 2025, but continues to publish a digital edition. In 2007, ''The Star-Ledger''s ...

'' that was published on October 27, 1995, stated, "Many of these works resemble theatrical sets, with the nearer elements framing dramatic vistas." In describing one of Pejman's works, she goes on to say, "'Spring Time in Persepolis' features a ruined temple, its gray stone columns and walls carved with animals and soldiers. A slab in the foreground, however, displays spring flowers in a cracked vase, lush, dewy fruit and a colorful bird — the meticulous details suggest a 17th Century Dutch still life, but without the gloomy lighting." In a review and interview published in the March 1997 issue of ''Heritage Magazine'', art critic and contributing writer Anna Ahkami describes Bob Pejman's style as, "Blending realism, impressionism and fantasy, Bob Pejman's paintings offer a modern look at the ancient ruins of the Mediterranean and Middle East. Fragments of stone temples, majestic villas and overgrown gardens, some of which no longer exist, are painted in direct, clear-cut detail. Pejman relies upon his vivid imagination to rebuild these relics showing the impact centuries of wind, nature and man's own destruction have had upon them. Using bright, contemporary luminescent colors viewers are welcomed into such lush yet forgotten places as

Persepolis Persepolis (; ; ) was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (). It is situated in the plains of Marvdasht, encircled by the southern Zagros mountains, Fars province of Iran. It is one of the key Iranian cultural heritage sites and ...

Babylon Babylon ( ) was an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, within modern-day Hillah, Iraq, about south of modern-day Baghdad. Babylon functioned as the main cultural and political centre of the Akkadian-s ...

and

Pompeii Pompeii ( ; ) was a city in what is now the municipality of Pompei, near Naples, in the Campania region of Italy. Along with Herculaneum, Stabiae, and Villa Boscoreale, many surrounding villas, the city was buried under of volcanic ash and p ...

National publication reviews and articles

*'' Art World News'', May 2004, article by Sarah Seamark (senior editor) *''Art Business News'', April 2002 article by Audrey S. Chapman *''The Artist's Magazine'', July 1998 article by Debbie Hagan *''

Newark Star Ledger ''The Star-Ledger'' was the largest circulation newspaper in New Jersey. It is based in Newark, New Jersey. The newspaper ceased print publication on February 2, 2025, but continues to publish a digital edition. In 2007, ''The Star-Ledger''s ...

'', October 27, 1995 review of one-man exhibition by Eileen Watkins (art critic)

Copyrighted and published pieces listed in order of year publication in the United States

Bright Lights, Big City (2014), Cinque Terre Sunset (2014), Venetian Sunset (2013), Santa Maria Sunset (2013), Day's End in Venice (2012), Sebonack (2011), Eternal Lake Como (2010), Garden Terrace in Amalfi (2009), Mission Reflections (2009), Laguna Beach Stroll (2009), Springtime in New York (2007), Morning Reflections (2006), Lakeside Vineyard (2006), The Niche in Tuscany (2006), Varenna Reflections (2005), Santorini Villa (2004), Bellagio Village (2003), Passage to San Marco (2002), Lake Como Villa (2001), Bellagio Memories (2000),Rendezvous in Venice (1999), Afternoon in Venice (1998), Terrace in Bellagio (1997),Tuscany Window I & II (1997), Tuscany Village (1997), Green Door in Capri (1997), Capri Terrace (1997), Villa in Capri (1996), Apollo & Daphne (1995), Afternoon Tea at Vizcaya (1994), Solitude (1995)

References

PRWeb Sebonack News Release 2013

Art World News Article 2004

US Airways Magazine Article 2012

External links

Artist websitePejmaArt.com websiteYouTube Video (I)YouTube Video (II)YouTube Video (III)YouTube Video (IV)YouTube Video (V)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pejman, Bob 1963 births Living people Artists from New Jersey Rutgers University alumni Austrian emigrants to the United States Artists from Vienna Art Students League of New York alumni