Cold Window, c.1935

While still-life paintings of vases of flowers have a long history in Western art, they are often characterized by compositional stillness. MacLeod’s flower paintings, by contrast, are kinetic. She frequently depicted herself holding flowers in works such as The Slough, 1928, Self-Portrait with Begonia, c.1935, and Pegi with Cyclamens, 1936, but Cold Window isolates the motif, focusing exclusively on a vase of yellow and white blossoms. It is a concentrated study in still life, allowing MacLeod to hone her handling of colour, line, and motion. Flowers were one of the most accessible and popular subjects for women painters in Canada, especially during the long, harsh winters, and MacLeod painted them repeatedly, including cyclamens, which she mentions in correspondence with Marian Dale Scott (1906–1993).

Cold Window presents a vase of yellow and white flowers arranged on a windowsill, their twisting green stems spilling out in an animated tangle. They stand in vivid contrast to the static, wintry Cubist-like cityscape beyond: bare trees, angular rooftops, and muted buildings rendered in cool greys and mauves. Heavy curtains, painted with expressive strokes in earthy browns and ochres, further accentuate the interplay between interior abundance and exterior barrenness. The dynamic brushwork of the blossoms against the subdued geometry of the urban scene creates a striking tension at the heart of the composition.