Zinnias

Do you have a favourite fall flower? Blooming in early summer and lasting until the first frost, zinnias are known for their beauty and endurance. Here, Ottawa artist Wilfrid Flood depicts the dark orange blooms with painterly brushstrokes and rich colour in this still life scene. Painting in the 1930s and 1940s, and working alongside fellow Ottawa painters like Henri Masson and Maurice Haycock, Flood was well known for his expressive industrial scenes, rural landscapes, and portraiture. His still lifes, allowing for exercises in formal technique, capture a sense of life, vitality, and interest in colour.