Janet Roberts
Janet Roberts received a degree in Fine Arts in 1966 from Indiana University and has been showing and selling her oil paintings ever since. After painting the landscape for over 30 years, she became intrigued with incorporating old photos with vintage fabric and wallpaper on canvas. These ghostly images seem to come back to life when depicted in oil, and although most of the subjects are total strangers, they soon feel like well-known friends and family. The transparency of the paint in places is intentional, as it allows the fabric or paper to show through, thus heightening the sense of age and suggesting that the viewer is catching a glimpse of an ephemeral memory.
Robert’s paintings have been in many juried shows and represented in various galleries. While she was living in London, England in the early 80’s, one of her pieces was accepted into the annual Royal Academy of Art Summer Exhibition. Her paintings are in the collections of many public institutions, including the Rehabilitation Hospital of Wisconsin, Northwestern Mutual buildings in Milwaukee and Franklin, North Shore Country Club in Mequon, Northbrook Public Library in Northbrook, IL and Mercy Hospital in Cedar Rapids, IA.
Tradition on the Line is located in the Carnegie Reading Room. Acquired in 2008.