Featured Artwork: Evening Silence

RSW's Diary Comments

Silent Evening, 1920s, 30" x 25"

"Painted about 1920. A large 40 x 50 upright made the year after I won the First Hallgarten Prize at the N.A.D. Made it to send to the annual Carnegie International Exhibition at Pittsburgh. It was accepted and hung in the show. A few years later it was bought by Mrs. Henry Everett, once of Cleveland, at the time of Pasadena. At the time of her death, I am not quite certain what became of it. The tall majestic woods conceived from 'Redgate' in the late gloaming with a rose sky running up to blue through the dark lacey branches."

Editor's Note:

The painting Silent Evening, to the right, is a smaller version of the same scene. This was not unusual for RSW. Especially when he knows the original is on the other (west) coast. Mrs. Everett and her husband are from Cleveland and keep a residence there but spend most of their time in Pasadena, CA. Silent Evening gives one an idea of the coloring of this painting for which we only have the sepia image above.

Greenfield Recorder, May 8, 1920

Gazette & Courier: MAY 8, 1920:

"Robert Strong Woodward's Evening Silence wins high praise. Robert Strong Woodward, the Shelburne Falls artist has just had the honor of having one of his large paintings Evening Silence accepted and hung at the International Exhibition of Paintings - - It is the exhibition of the most importance in the country. "

June 28, 1928,
Pasadena Post

Mrs. Josephine Everett of Cleveland, OH, was a leading advocate of the arts, as well as a assiduous collector of art. In terms of legacy, she has two. One is her collection of art to the Cleveland Museum of Fine Art in her daughter's name, The Dorthy Burnham Everett Collection. The other is that Josephine is credited with writing the check that bought the land that the Hollywood Bowl would be built.

She is one of Woodward's most faithful customers and patrons. She frequently lent portions of her collection to exhibit at fine museums, such as the Los Angeles Muesm of Art, and included her Woodwards to the loan.

We do not know when the two came to know each other. Woodward spent many years of his youth in Ohio, the closest to Cleveland being Akron, and lived near the Everetts when he moved to California. This may be one of the only instances his father Orion's work as a real estate developer may have benefited his son. It is very likely, the relationship began in California when Orion was involved in the development of the Balboa Recreational Area for the Pasadena light rail (trolley) system for which Mr. Everett was involved.

At the death of Mrs. Everett, this painting was willed to the Pasadena Art Museum, along with several other paintings. The museum suffering a financial crisis, sold Evening Silence in 1970 to an unknown buyer. The museum was merged into the Norton Simon Museum. Its whereabouts is unknown to this day.

Woodward letter referencing Evening Silence

To the right is an excerpt from a letter written by RSW in which he mentions this painting. We have transcribed it for you:

"Among the larger ones there was the 40 x 50, 'Evening Silence', wich was accepted and hung at the Carnegie International Exhibition in Pittsburgh this Spring -- a stately wood interior at winter evening, a rose sky running up to blue, back of the intricate branch pattern, the pale early moon showing in one of the sky openings. Snow on the ground with frozen streamwinding out of the foreground -- the dominatant colors being rose and blue, -- the dominant interest, the intricate livery pattern of branches against the glowing sky."