Poppies, Lilies and Blue Flowers 1915

William James Glackens's "Poppies, Lilies and Blue Flowers" is an explosion of colour. Can you feel the hand of the artist moving through the image, pushing and pulling the paint to create a bouquet of warm tones? I can imagine Glackens wanting to bring to life the sensation of seeing these flowers in full bloom. He uses colour to evoke the textures and tactile qualities of the petals. Glackens’s brushstrokes create an image that feels soft and alive. What do you think he was trying to express? The painting reminds me of Renoir. The way the surface seems to vibrate with light is the way painting offers another way of thinking about the world, one that’s not fixed but always changing. Artists like Glackens and Renoir are in conversation with each other, exploring similar questions about perception, expression, and the nature of seeing.