John Frederick Peto (May 21, 1854 – November 23, 1907) was an American trompe l'oeil ("fool the eye") painter who was long forgotten until his paintings were rediscovered along with those of fellow trompe l'oeil artist William Harnett.
Other artists who painted similar compositions in Harnett's wake include his contemporary John Haberle and successors such as Otis Kaye and Jefferson David Chalfant.
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Noted for championing American art, (see, Actual Art) his most famous book is After The Hunt, a volume that examined the trompe-l'œil movement in late 19th century and early 20th-century American art, focussing on the painters William Harnett and John Frederick Peto.
Otis Kaye carried on the trompe l'oeil tradition of William Harnett, John Frederick Peto, and John Haberle, and is esteemed particularly for his works which include U.S. currency.
A pioneering study of Peto and Harnett is Alfred Frankenstein's After the Hunt, William Harnett and Other American Still Life Painters 1870-1900.