Pegeen Vail grew up in the company of celebrated American and European avant garde artists, but little is written about her own artistic career. Most texts emphasize her relationship to her mother, art collector Peggy Guggenheim; the influence of her stepfather, artist Max Ernst; or her marriages and friendships with famous male intellectuals and creatives. Yet, her idiosyncratic paintings, which synthesize surrealist and faux-naïf styles, merit consideration on their own terms. Often incorporating whimsical and exaggerated elements—like these super-sized daisies and diminutive, curvilinear chairs—into her decor, Vail presents couples, families, and intimates in colorful, expressive twists on everyday scenes.

---