With a casual bouquet of spring blooms in a simple glass vessel, Glackens conjures a life of ease and beauty. Perhaps the children have made a bouquet for their parents or guests are expected. The conspicuous pattern of brushstrokes plays against atmospheric shadow. The artist’s soft touch and feathery brushstrokes suggest the inspiration of Pierre-Auguste Renoir, whom Glackens idolized. The bold color echoes the work of Henri Matisse, whose work he came to know in his many trips to Paris.
At the beginning of his career, Glackens worked as an illustrator and reporter by day and took drawing classes at night at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. The mentorship of Robert Henri led him to painting and, around the turn of the century, to New York. There the group of mostly Philadelphia artists formed the so-called Ashcan School, known for their scenes of city life. Glackens had attended Central High School in Philadelphia with Albert C. Barnes, and the two men remained lifelong friends. Glackens recommended and sometimes purchased Impressionist and modernist paintings for Barnes, many of which remain in the collection of the Barnes Foundation today.
