Boy with Red Peonies 1910

Robert Lewis Reid made "Boy with Red Peonies" with oil on canvas, and just look at those luscious brushstrokes of red, pink, and green. It’s like Reid was wrestling with a garden, trying to capture its fleeting beauty, one dab of paint at a time. I can imagine Reid standing there, squinting in the sunlight, trying to pin down the exact shade of pink on those peonies. It’s like he’s saying, "I see you, flower, and I’m going to get you on this canvas if it kills me!" He was probably inspired by Impressionists like Monet and Renoir, but doing his own thing, trying to give the kid, the flowers, and the background equal weight. I love how painting lets us see the world in so many different ways. Reid’s work reminds us that art isn’t just about pretty pictures. It’s about a conversation between artists and their time.