Featured Artwork: Unnamed: Along a Hill Road

Because we have yet confirm the name, this painting will not have a diary comment attached to it.

Editor's Note:

An October Gold, pre-1927 This painting is an
earlier version of the prized October Gold (1929). We
show this instead because it is painted in a similar style
to the painting of this art work page. We have a Scrap-
book essay about RSW's changing brush style between
the 1922 and 1927 featuring October Gold... CLICK HERE

If this painting is as old as we think it is, that would make the sepia photo seen above the oldest example of such a print that we have. Moreover, all those distracting tiny spots throughout the photo is more evidence of the painting's age. Those spots tell us two things: (1) the painting is not only impressionistic of Woodward's early career and (2) that it was painted in the heavy impasti style he used prior to 1922. The spots are reflection off of the painting's highly textured surface, as well as the vanish the artist is using during this period of time. The website has had as much difficulty photographing these paintings.

We have questioned whether the sepia print was backwards. While unlikely, if you compare it to all of the other roadside hill paintings. This is the ONLY one where the focus is strictly on the right side of the road. All others are to the left side tree line. The two exceptions, are Down to the Valley which we believe might be from the same road as the painting above and October Gold, although we feel the tree is the primary subject of that painting.

A photo of the painting hanging on a wall

We have been working on going through Dr. Mark's extensive files and folders since his passing in 2020. It has been a monumental task and every once in a while you find a treasure that makes it ALL worth it such as this find. One, we found the old sepia mentioned above, but along with that there are these two photographs of the painting hanging in this luxurious room. It, however, disappoints because there is nothing written on the back of either photo.

Doing some homework, we also learn that only one painting name between the years 1918 and 1930 qualifies as a possible name for this painting- Along the Hill Road. Along the Hill Road exhibited at Woodward's "homecoming" exhibition at his alma mater, Bradley Polytechnic Institute, in Peoria, IL, in April 1919. This painting's profile fits the the year of this exhibit and we believe that it is very likely that this is that painting. We want to continue to do some further research hopefully to this.

We have talked about what this room might be. It looks like a study, or salon room in a very fancy home. But it could also be, perhaps, a room found somewhere on the Bradley Campus. We will be contacting the University, and local historical societies in the Peoria area to see if we can find anyone who recognizes the room.

A photo of the room the painting hung