Wilton Lockwood - Peonies, about 1913

Fullscreen Order custom print
Back
3 more
1 more
This oil painting depicts a loose arrangement of six white peony blossoms in an amorphous background of red, green, and yellow. The flowers are slightly past their prime. Petals have fallen off and lie scattered near small leaves and stems. The peonies’ thin stems struggle to hold up their huge heads. One flower lays on the ground and another is close. The light comes from the left and two of the erect flower heads are turned towards it. Others, in the back right, are in partial shadow. The flowers’ golden yellow centers reflect pale sunny color on parts of the petals close to the center. The distal parts of the petals are tinged with pale pink.

Wilton Lockwood (Wilton, Connecticut, 1862 - 1914, New York)

Peonies, about 1913

Oil on canvas, 60 x 71 cm (23 5/8 x 27 15/16 in.)

Macknight Room

On View
Explore Macknight Room

Commentary

While violets were Isabella's favorite flowers, peonies must have been a close runner-up. She cultivated the pretty plants in her extensive gardens at her home in Brookline and won first prize from the Massachusetts Historical Society for her "vase of [peony] blooms on long stems, arranged for effect."

Her enthusiasm for peonies even informed the artists she patronized. Wilton Lockwood grew peonies on Cape Cod, and his paintings of the flowers became his most popular subject. Isabella purchased this painting in 1914 at a Boston art gallery, and it was later exhibited at the Worcester Art Museum, along with 27 other Lockwood paintings (12 entitled Peonies).

In Massachusetts, peonies typically bloom in June. Thanks to this purchase, Isabella enjoyed peonies year-round.