Quick Reference
1939
Oyster Harbors
Oysterville, Cape Cod, MA
Chalk Drawing
Landscape
Brooks, Ponds, Rivers (Water)
Unknown
Charlotte Gallery & Gift Shop
Garner, MA 1939
Unknown
NA
Featured Artwork: Good Sailing: Oyster Harbors
RSW's Diary Comments
Excerpt from the Helen Patch Letters:
First letter:
"... He never went to Europe; he visited us once on Cape Cod and made a couple of crayon
drawings of pitch pines and the sea-beyond...
Second letter:
... I always felt that his own tragic limitation prevented
not only extensive travel, but ruled out any influence of Cubism, Impressionism and other revolutions in the art of 50 years ago. He was 'Mr. New England' ---
accept there was no trace of the ocean's surf or the rocky coast."
Additional Notes
Screen Capture of Oyster Harbors
Helen Patch and her husband were long time
close friends of Woodward. Her recollections of RSW are both intimate and insightful. We learned so much having discovered them sitting in the
1970 Deerfield Academy's American Studies Group Archive in the school's
Boyden Library.
Although we have always known of this drawing, it was assumed it was of someplace near Boston. It was her letters
that link this drawing to the Cape. Up until her letters, we had no idea RSW ever visited the Cape, not to mention her specific mention of him drawing a couple of "crayon
drawings" (while RSW called them chalks, other called them crayons despite being inaccurate. Crayons or a separate medium entirely).
This is a wonderful discovery because as Mrs. Patch points out, he was 'Mr. New England' without its iconic
rocky coast or ocean. Oddly enough, another uncharacteristic chalk, On the Waterfront is also of a
sail boat only it is docked in the Boston Harbor. We imagine that one of those drawings went to the Patches as a gift for their hospitality, though she makes no mention of this.