Fleur de Lis

Robert Reid was born in Stockbridge, Massachusetts and was educated at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Art Students League in New York, and the Académie Julian in Paris. Upon his return to New York, Reid worked as a portraitist and became an instructor at the Art Students League and Cooper Union. Like this painting, much of his work centered on the depiction of young women set among flowers. His work tended to be decorative rather than theoretical, and he became known for mural decoration and designs for stained glass. Reid was among the founding members of the Ten American Painters, a loosely defined group of French-trained artists associated with Impressionism. Best known for his decorative figure paintings featuring elegant women enveloped in outdoor settings, Reid went on to specialize in murals. This work recalls the Smell panel in his Five Senses series at the Library of Congress. Reid's painting suggests and analogy between his female figure and the fragile irises that surround her. The palette of her dress, skin, and hair, in the artist's impressionistic strokes blur the line between the delicate flowers and the figure. She is visually assimilated with the blossoms that envelope her.