Reviewing an exhibit of Silva’s work, ARTnews writer Susan C. Larsen said,

“These lyrical paintings are direct and unself-conscious…eager to reveal themselves vividly and clearly. In this era of self-conscious expressionism, Silva’s work has a peculiarly American romanticism, akin to that of Poe or Ryder in its appreciation of the fierce beauty of the barren and the melancholy. His recurrent imagery…suggests a dreamer’s landscape. But there is nothing here of slumber. The dreamer’s eyes are open and he is wide awake.”