[1] Petersen née von Simson was born in Berlin, Germany in 1915.

[2] She studied at the Berlin Academy and the Munich School of Fine Arts.

Petersen was friends with Mercedes Matter, founder of the New York Studio School.

[6] She exhibited around New York City, including the Betty Parsons Gallery.

[5] In 2012 she held her last show Vita Petersen – In Black and White: Her Last Works at the New York Studio School.