OMPIR

Peter Ompir was an American portrait painter who trained in fine art, but was unable to find work during the Great Depression.  To make a living, he painted naïve colonial figures, birds, fruit and flowers on household objects such as tables, pitchers and ladles.  With his partner Warner Wrede he produced fine art on wooden and tin ware, using his secret antiquing process to give new items the appearance of old age.  These are greatly prized by collectors today, and he is considered the father of the 20th century decorative art movement in America.