From Wychwood to Eternity: The Enduring Art of Mary Hiester Reid

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October 4, 1921

On this day, dear readers, we bid farewell to Mary Hiester Reid, an American-born Canadian painter and teacher whose brush strokes left an indelible mark on the canvas of art history. (Books about this remarkable artist)

Mary, a painter of floral still lifes, was a tonalist par excellence - her works a symphony of passion, poetry, and subtlety. Critics have described her paintings as "devastatingly expressive," a testament to her ability to capture the very essence of her subjects.

In her illustrious career, Mary donned the mantles of both impressionist and realist, producing over 300 oil paintings that continue to captivate viewers to this day.

Indeed, in 1890, at the zenith of her artistic powers, Mary was hailed as the most critical flower painter in Canada - a veritable queen of the canvas.

One of Mary's artistic signatures was her penchant for trios - her paintings often featuring three flowers or three trees, a compositional choice that speaks volumes about her life and relationships. As the insightful author Molly Peacock observes:

Mary and her husband lived in a loose menage with a talented younger artist named Mary Evelyn Wrinch...

This Mary Evelyn Wrinch, 24 years Reid's junior, was both friend and rival - a complex relationship that perhaps found expression in Reid's triangular compositions.

In a twist worthy of a novel, Mary's will specified that upon her death, her husband should be "given" to Mary Evelyn Wrinch. One can only imagine the conversations that must have bloomed in their artistic enclave!

Mary's passing so moved the Canadian newspaperman Duncan Sutherland Macorquodale that he penned a touching memorial poem in her honor.

The verse, referencing Mary's Wychwood home (an artist's haven of sixty homes nestled in the rolling wooded hills of Toronto's Davenport Ridge), paints a vivid picture of the artist's legacy:

Free from the thrall called life,
Palette and brush laid down;
Off with achievement's strife,
Donned the immortal's crown;
Yet hovers she near 'neath the Wychwoodtree,
This, the roses she painted, tell to me.

For those eager to delve deeper into the fascinating life and work of Mary Hiester Reid, I heartily recommend Molly Peacock's Flower Diary: In Which Mary Hiester Reid Paints, Travels, Marries & Opens a Door. Published in September of last year, this book promises to be a bouquet of insights into the life of this remarkable artist.

As we remember Mary Hiester Reid today, let us take a moment to appreciate the beauty she brought into the world.

Her legacy, like the flowers she so lovingly painted, continues to bloom in galleries and hearts alike. May her story inspire us to see the world through an artist's eyes, finding beauty and meaning in the simplest of forms, and perhaps, like Mary, to arrange our lives in harmonious trios of passion, creativity, and love.

Mary Hiester Reid in her studio
Mary Hiester Reid in her studio
Portrait of Mary Hiester Reid by George Agnew Reid 1898
Portrait of Mary Hiester Reid by George Agnew Reid 1898
Mary Hiester Reid in her studio, c. 1911, photograph by William James
Mary Hiester Reid in her studio, c. 1911, photograph by William James
Mary Hiester Reid
Mary Hiester Reid
Mary Hiester Reid, 1885, by George Reid
Mary Hiester Reid, 1885, by George Reid

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