Robert Reid (painter)

[
Thomas Jefferson Building, Washington, D.C.]
[
Thomas Jefferson Building, Washington, D.C.]

Robert Lewis Reid (July 29, 1862 – December 2, 1929) was an American Impressionist painter and muralist.

Reid was born in Stockbridge, Massachusetts and attended the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston under Otto Grundmann, where he was also later an instructor. In 1884 he moved to New York City, studying at the Art Students League, and in 1885 he went to Paris to study at the Académie Julian.

Upon returning to New York in 1889, he worked as a portraitist and later became an instructor at the Art Students League and Cooper Union. Much of his work centered on the depiction of young women set among flowers. His work tended to be very decorative.

In 1897, Reid was a member of the Ten American Painters, who seceded from the Society of American Artists. Around the turn of the century, Reid worked on several mural projects and when he returned to paintings, around 1905, his work was more naturalistic, even though his palette trended toward soft pastels.

He died in Clifton Springs, New York.