Born in 1958, Peggy Root grew up in Florida and North Carolina. She studied at Ringling School of Art and Design (1977-1980), and studied figure painting and anatomy at Lyme Academy of Fine Art in Old Lyme, Connecticut (1984-1987). Peggy has spent the last 35 years painting the landscape of the Eastern United States. She has had many solo exhibitions in the Northeast and South and has exhibited in numerous invitational group shows. She works in oil directly from life on location, generally working on large canvases in two-hour sessions, returning to the site at the same time on successive days to develop the painting.

Her work is in private and corporate collections throughout the country. Peggy lives in East Tennessee with her husband, artist Tom Root, and family.

EDUCATION

      1977-1980   Ringling School of Art and Design, Sarasota, FL.
      1984-1987   Lyme Academy of Fine Arts, Old Lyme, CT

TEACHING

      2011-current   Co-owner and Instructor Root Studio School in Johnson City, TN with husband artist Tom Root.

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

      2016   "Love of Place", David Lusk Gallery, Nashville
      2015   "New Terrain", Gallery One, Blue Spiral 1, Asheville, NC
      2013   Blue Spiral 1, Asheville, NC.
      2012   "Strong Bones" Tennessee Arts Commission , Nashville, TN
      2010   Blue Spiral 1, Asheville, NC
      2010   "At Home" Exhibition, JCAAC Gallery, Johnson City, TN
      2005   Blue Spiral 1, Asheville, NC.
      2003   Blue Spiral 1, Asheville, NC.
      2001   David Lusk Gallery, Memphis, TN.
      1998   The Cooley Gallery, Old Lyme, CT.
      1997   Tennessee State Museum, Nashville, TN.
      1997   Ledbetter Lusk Gallery, Memphis, TN.
      1995   Covington and Burling Law Offices, Washington DC.
      1994   The Cooley Gallery, Old Lyme, CT.
      1992   The Cooley Gallery, Old Lyme, CT.
      1990   The Cooley Gallery, Old Lyme, CT.
      1989   The Cooley Gallery, Old Lyme, CT.

SELECTED JOINT AND GROUP EXHIBITIONS

      2015   "Price is Right", David Lusk Gallery, Memphis and Nashville
      2015   "Landrush", David Lusk Gallery, Nashville
      2014   "Price is Right", David Lusk Gallery, Memphis
      2012   Red Clay Survey, Huntsville Museum of Art, Huntsville, Alabama
      2012   The Art of Community, Janet and Jim Ayers' Collection of Tennessee Art, First Bank, Nashville, Tennessee
      2010   Milestones: Blue Ridge Parkway Exhibition, Blue Spiral 1, Asheville, NC
      2008   Blue Ridge Parkway Exhibition and benefit for Conservation Trust of NC, Blue Spiral 1, Asheville, NC
      2004-2007   'From Sea to Shining Sea' invitational exhibition (national traveling museum exhibition)
      2002   "Southern Vistas" group exhibition, Blue Spiral 1, Asheville, NC
      2002   "Common Ground" joint exhibition with Thomas B. Root, The Cooley Gallery, Old Lyme, CT.
      2000   "The Southern Scene: Contemporary Landscapes" Blue Spiral 1, Asheville, NC.
      1998   Group landscape exhibition, Blue Spiral 1, Asheville, NC.
      1997   B. Carroll Reece Museum, East Tennessee State University (joint exhibit with Thomas B. Root).
      1995   Airlie House Conference Center, Warrenton, VA - invitational
      1994   Airlie House Conference Center, Warrenton, VA - invitational
      1990   "Vision and Imagination" Cooley Gallery group exhibition at Old State House, Hartford, CT.
      1987   Lyme Academy of Fine Arts, Old Lyme, CT (joint exhibition with Thomas B. Root)

SELECTED PUBLIC AND PRIVATE COLLECTIONS:

      Tennessee Arts Commission, Nashville, TN
      Tennessee State Museum, Nashville, TN
      Biltmore Industries, Asheville, NC
      AmSouth Bank Corporate Headquarters, Birmingham, AL
      Governor and Mrs. Don Sundquist, Nashville, TN.
      Ms. Andie McDowell
      Airlie House, Warrenton, VA.
      Oshkosh B'Gosh, Corporate Headquarters, Oshkosh, WI.
      Hartford Steam Boiler Insurance Co., Hartford, CT.
      Opryland Hotel Convention Center, Nashville, TN.
      Meadowview Hotel Conference Center, Kingsport, TN.
      Assisi Foundation, Memphis, TN.
      Promus Hotel Corporation Headquarters, Memphis, TN.
      Town of Jonesborough, TN, Visitor Center

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY:

      The Artist's Magazine, Jerry Weiss, In the Solitude of Nature, January/February 2016, pp.30-37
      "The Art of Community" Janet and Jim Ayers Collection of Tennessee Art,
                  Celia S. Walker and Susan W. Knowles, 2012, pp. 106-107
      "Painting in the Snow--Then and Now" by Stephen May, American Artist Magazine, May 1999.
      "Painting Untamed Nature" by Sam Kirby, American Artist Magazine,
                  May 1993 pp. 37-43 and cover, illustrated.