MTA Arts & Design

Deer Park

William Low

Deer Park Dahlias, 2018

Laminated glass

William Low is a painter and illustrator based in Huntington, Long Island. His scene of vibrantly colored dahlias in a pastoral field for Deer Park station creates a contemplative space in the station waiting room. The large scale flowers shift the viewer’s perspective, providing an experience of childlike wonder at the natural world.

The artwork is derived from the local area’s botanic legacy: Central Park was first landscaped with ornamental trees and shrubs that had been grown in Deer Park, and the town was well known for annual dahlia festivals. The area is still a floral site, with several wholesale nurseries near to the station. Deer Park Dahlias acknowledges this specific, but not widely known, aspect of the community.

Low’s signature style uses classic painting techniques to depict city and nature scenes with shimmering sunlight and evocative color. Drawing from real life observations, his work conveys personal experience as shared memory. He has won numerous awards including four Silver medals from the Society of Illustrators, and has illustrated several beloved children’s books. He is currently the principal in Cobalt Illustration Studios and he is a professor at FIT.