The Furs 1911

Robert Lewis Reid made *The Furs* with oil on canvas, and it’s all about that broken color, right? Like a mosaic or a pointillist field of these juicy, separate dabs. What’s so cool is how that technique builds this shimmering surface. Look closely at the backdrop – it's a riot of yellows, blues, and oranges that somehow reads as naturalistic, like a garden. Then check out the fur stole, it almost dissolves into the background. There’s this push and pull between detail and abstraction, the lady’s features and clothing become almost mirage-like. It’s like Reid is not just painting a portrait, but he's after something that’s more about capturing a fleeting impression, like the Impressionists, or even early Fauves like Matisse. You can see how art is always looking back and talking to itself. Nothing is ever really new, but we make it new again, you know?