Preservation Plan and Restoration

The John Frederick Peto House and Studio, in Island Heights (located on the northern shore of the Toms River at a point where it opens onto Barnegat Bay) is a memorial to the life and work of the renowned still-life painter. Peto (1854-1907) painted in the Trompe L’oeil style. His paintings were realistic and full of color, much like his home and studio, and are found in the collections of major museums. Beginning in 1890, Peto designed and built the house and studio, and it still contains some of his furniture and many of the artifacts, which he often depicted in his paintings. The property is now one of only a handful of historic house museums that celebrate the life of a famous American artist. Prior to acquisition by the current owner, the property was owned and cared for by subsequent generations of Peto’s descendants until late 2005.

The project depicted here preserves the original home and studio and restores lost features in an effort to return the property to the appearance that Peto knew. Later additions and modifications made by the family were removed. In addition the front porch, rooflines, and interior layout were recreated using extensive historic photographs and by heeding evidence of earlier construction through building archeology. The roof was returned to cedar shingles, the original clapboard was revealed, and missing architectural features (such as ridge cresting, architectural trim, brackets, paneled shutters, and latticework) were replicated. As important, extensive interior and exterior paint analyses were conducted to reveal a palette of vivid and contrasting colors that would have been in place during Peto’s time in the house. The palette of colors revealed and reinstated complement the colors found in Peto’s many artistic works.

As part of this preservation project, the overall site and landscape were redesigned to reestablish lost features and to cull recent vegetation that would not have been part of the turn-of-the century setting. Large specimen Oak and Holly trees, visible in the historic photographs, were preserved. Site design was sensitive to the single-family residential neighborhood. As part of the property’s new use as a museum and non-profit offices, new heating, air conditioning, and security/fire safety systems were installed with minimal disturbance to the building’s historic fabric. Barrier-free access was brought into compliance by improvements to parking and by the construction of a new, brick paver walks, an access ramp, and bathroom facilities.