Learn more about artist Robert Peterson’s life experience and artistic practice during this intimate conversation with Director/CEO Anne Kraybill.

5:30 pm Complimentary cocktail reception + mixing-and-mingling with Murdock members and local artists in partnership with Harvester Arts
6:30 pm Conversation with Robert Peterson and Anne Kraybill
7:30 pm Optional dinner by 1400 by Elderslie ($75/person)

In 2012, Robert Peterson picked up a paintbrush for the first time after receiving word from his doctors that he needed surgery to replace his hip as a means to relieve his fear of going under the knife. After painting a few works, Peterson’s work began to sell and just eight months later he had his first solo exhibition in New York City at Smile Design Gallery.

Ten years later, Peterson’s paintings began to evolve and focus more on the black experience through the lens of his life which is projected onto each new work stating that, “My art is my truth and my voice, it reflects a softer side of black people often not portrayed in the media and yet it still finds a way to show our strength and resilience, something that I want to see more of in galleries and museums.”

WAM’s new acquisition Sunday Kind of Love, now on view in the exhibition Love for All My Life, exemplifies this with an intimate portrayal that is representative of Peterson and his wife, Marina quietly laying together and listening to each other’s heartbeat.

Pictured at top: Robert Peterson, Sunday Kind of Love (detail), 2022. Oil on canvas, 54 x 114 inches. Collection of the Wichita Art Museum. Photo courtesy Robert Peterson