Robert Reid (1862-1929),
Boy with Red Piones, c.1910, oil on canvas, 37 x 33 3/8 inches. Brigham Young University Museum of Art, 1973.
In this delightful depiction of blooming childhood and flora, a young boy emerges from a flowering bush, his face a seeming outgrowth of the foliage. Reid painted both the child and peonies with similarly animated brushstrokes and bright color, uniting them pictorially. These flurries of color suggest an association between the freshness of nature and the spontaneity of youth. What fond memories do you have of playing in nature?