David Brown Milne 1882 - 1953

Milne's studio in Uxbridge had a large, arched window that looked out across Brock Street, the town's main thoroughfare, at the gas station, the egg-grading station, and the local newspaper's offices. Milne painted numerous variations on his views up and down the street from his great window (now, alas, bricked up, after having served, after Milne, as the studio for Duncan McPherson, the great cartoonist).

At his nearby home, Milne and his wife gardened and grew not just vegetables, as nearly everyone did during the war years, but also a profusion of flowers, many of them exotic. Milne also gathered trilliums, wild honeysuckle, and other flowers during his walks in the countryside, and brought them to his studio to paint.

This particular painting is an excellent example of the exceptional quality of floral paintings that Milne did at this time in his life, although flower still lifes were touchstones for his work in almost every period in his career. The richness of the bouquet, which is reinforced by the dazzling glass dish on the right, sits prominently against the pale background of Brock Street with its buildings, cars, tow truck, and pedestrians. The whole subject provides endless charm and delight.