"Painted around 1925-27. Painting of shelf area with Chinese lantern over it, of old studio. Placed in the Founders Show of Grand Central Art Galleries about 1927 from which pictures are chosen by lot. I think this canvas went to one of the Crane families of Dalton, Mass., but am not absolutely certain."
"Among the finest pieces of work in this exhibit is My Christmas Shelf by Robert Strong Woodward of Shelburne Falls. Those who saw the league's last members' show will remember that this canvas was hung there. The picture is just what the name implies, a corner of the book shelves in the artist's own studio, with a gay silk lantern, a spray of holly, a plate of fruit and such things as one might have in a charming corner. Aside from the warmth of the coloring, the fascinating arrangement of pattern, it is the sureness of execution that proclaims this at once the work of the accomplished artist."