Peter Adams received his training at the Art Center College of Design, the Otis Art Institute, and the Instituto de Bellas Artes, San Miguel de Allende. However, it was not until he enrolled at the Lukits Academy of Fine Arts in Los Angeles that he finally found the traditional artistic philosophies he so admired. At the Lukits Academy, Adams spent seven years in diligent formal training, eventually becoming the personal apprentice to the renowned mural, landscape and portrait painter, Theodore N. Lukits (1897-1992).

From his years with Lukits, Adams gained a heightened appreciation for Oriental objects and antiquities. At the Lukits Academy it was typical for students to study still-life compositions that consisted of original sculptures and porcelains from the various Chinese Dynasties. This interest later led to his traveling throughout Asia, and in 1980 Adams was the first American artist to travel and paint unescorted through the People's Republic of China. Peter Adams' fascination for Asia gained him great acclaim when, in 1987, he was the only American artist to travel and paint with the Moujahideen rebels in Soviet occupied Afghanistan. Today, Peter Adams combines Eastern design concepts with the Western sense of depth through atmosphere.

Since 1993 Adams has been President of the historic California Art Club, established 1909. Under his leadership, the club's roster has grown from 80 members to nearly 3,000 at present. Today, the California Art Club is recognized as a leading proponent in the current national traditional art movement. Peter Adams is a Signature Member of the California Art Club, the Pastel Society of America, the Plein Air Painters of America, and is a Master Signature Member of the Oil Painters of America. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Pacific Asia Museum, Pasadena, California, and is on the Advisory Board of Directors at the Academy of Art College, San Francisco, California. Adams is on the Board of Advisors for the American Renaissance for the Twenty-first Century, New York, New York, as well as for the American Society of Portrait Artists, Montgomery, Alabama. In addition, he is an elected Associate Guild Member, Honorary Emeritus of the American Society of Classical Realism, Minneapolis, Minnesota. In May of 1997 Peter Adams was the recipient of the Gold Crown Award for Visual Art presented by the Pasadena Arts Council. Also in 1997, Peter Adams co-founded the California Art Academy and Museum in Pasadena, California, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit institution designed to assure the continuation of high standards in traditional fine art.

Member:
California Art Club (President, October 1993 - present)
Oil Painters of America
Pastel Society of America
Plein Air Painters of America

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