Peter Peterson obtained a diploma in painting from Hornsey College of Art in 1967. He began his teaching career in the Visual Research Department of Chesterfield College of Art. He also held the post of senior lecturer in the Fine Arts Department of Epsom College of Art.

His work has been exhibited at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition since 1968, and he was elected to the Royal Society of British Artists in 1978, later becoming Vice-President.

In 1986 Peterson was a visiting lecturer at Falmouth College of Art. In 1989 he started the Small Paintings Group. The same year he became a founding member and, later, vice-chairman of the Society of Landscape Painters.

In 1992 and 1995 he held solo exhibitions at the Mall Galleries. He has won a number of prestigious art awards over the years, including the De Laszlo Medal in 1994 and the Guilders Workshop Prize at the Discerning Eye exhibition in 1997. His work has been shown abroad in the USA, Bermuda and Hong Kong.