Key Works

Though accomplished in producing floral still-life oil paintings, with the rose a favourite subject, Mary Hiester Reid (1854–1921) produced quite a diverse oeuvre. She created interior scenes, garden scenes, and landscapes, as well as paintings inspired by her travels in Europe and urban moonlit views. Hiester Reid’s extensive academic training in composition, meticulous sense of colour, and sensitivity to the effects of light are clearly illustrated in these key works. Also evident is a keen awareness of the influential artistic strategies of her day—Impressionism, the Aesthetic movement, and Tonalist art.