Congratulations to Brandon Peralta, Brentwood High School, the winner of the Visitors Choice Award for Long Island’s Best 2026. More than 1100 votes were cast this year by individuals visiting the Museum in person as well as voting online.
Using Hamilton Easter Field’s Portrait of Robert Malcolm Adams as the
inspiration for his self-portrait, Peralta noted, “I was drawn to the piece’s introspection and resistance to rigid definitions of identity. Field’s painting captures its subject with tenderness and psychological depth, illustrating a quiet complexity.” Brentwood’s Jae Won Shim was his art teacher.
His artist statement continued, “My drawing follows a similar soft and unsaturated aesthetic. The eyes have similar, enigmatic forest-green irises and the mouth is a sharp red. Hamilton’s portrait faces the viewer indirectly, with the head turned and eyes glancing in the opposite direction. In contrast, my portrait faces the viewer head on, giving more of a sense of confidence. While Field’s portrait is shrouded in a sense of ambiguity and mystery as represented by the muddled brownish red background, in my work, I present myself more directly. I framed the piece with a bolder, red background that conveys emotional intensity. The plants symbolize growth, protection, and the layered nature of selfhood.”
Inspiration Artwork: Hamilton Easter Field, Portrait of Robert Malcom Adams, 1914, Oil on canvas