Peter Koenig: artist and artisan all in one

Local artist honored as one of the top traditional artisans in the country

By TOM KANE

MILFORD, PA — Peter Koenig is a big man. He’s not afraid to be known as an artisan, although he can claim the title of fine artist as well.

In the art world, not many fine artists will admit to that. Koenig’s art methodology is both eclectic and creative, ranging from painting portraits to painting landscapes to creating vintage signs that imitate pre-Revolutionary War American crafts.

So, given the unusual range of his work, he rightfully claims artist and artisan equally.

His productions as an artisan have landed him in the August 2007 issue of Early American Life, a prestigious publication of American artifacts that lists the top artisans from the industry, based on competition, every year. The judges are experts from some of the best museums of decoration in the country.

Koenig is listed in the “Directory of Traditional American Crafts,” which is published in the magazine’s August edition. This directory is a source for collectors and historic museums that are eager to own fine, handcrafted, period-accurate objects.

“It’s wonderful to be listed in this special publication,” Koenig said.

Because of the listing of his name and the showing of his work, he can legitimately be classified as one of the top traditional artisans in America.

Koenig’s primitive sign, called “Crofuts Inn,” which appears in the magazine, is reminiscent of the signs above old American country inns of the late 18th and early 19th century.

“Many of my period signs appear in the showroom of the Duckloe Brothers Furniture Company in Portland, PA,” Koenig said. “This is one of America’s top companies of American period furniture which has been in business for at least 150 years.”

The company is Koenig’s main promoters of his period and vintage signs.

The Duckloe people discovered his work at the Mohawk House in Sparta, NJ, an unusual restaurant with an ambiance that is reflective of the area’s past history. Thirty of his traditional American pieces are hanging there. When the Duckloes saw them, they immediately contacted him and took him on.

Koenig, who lives in Port Jervis, NY, has been at his art since he was a youth. Raised in Pearl River, NY, Koenig got his introduction to art at Rockland Community College.

“That got me started and launched me into the world of design down in New York City,” he said.

Working in the design world where he had to make a living, he learned his craft more as an apprentice than as a dedicated art student.

“It was like a tutorial situation,” he said. “These top artisans took me under their wings and taught me by doing rather than by studying.”

Some of the groups he worked with were connected with the old respected Scenic Artist Union, a group in existence since the 1900s who worked on building authentic scenery for the theater, for television and the movies.

Koenig, like a lot of artists, had to make a living and support his family, a wife and two children.

“So, it was tough trying to sell my work in those days, but as the years passed and I got more experienced, I now find that I can make a living exclusively from my work,” he said.

Koenig is a founding member of The Artery, a fine arts and fine craft gallery in Forest Hall in the center of Milford, PA. The gallery, which displays the work of a group of local artists and artisans including that of Koenig, has been open since 1998.

“The gallery has been important for much of my recent success,” he said.

A new and important avenue for his work to which he is currently turning is the Internet.

“I’m a neophyte, but I’m learning,” he said. “It’s becoming more and more clear to me that anyone who is a serious artist or artisan must use this emerging technology.”

“One of my closest friends got lucky on the Internet and he is now being sought by galleries and collectors from all over the world,” Koenig said. “I’ve hired an Internet specialist who is helping me design my website.” Koenig’s web address is www.peterkoenigart.com.

In looking at his vintage, historic signboards, Koenig is at pains to make an important distinction. “I do original reproductions,” he said. “They’re reproductions, using an old work as a kind of model. But I don’t slavishly copy them. What is original is my interpretation of subject and it’s that which makes them individual.”