RSW's Diary Comments

⮞  There are no diary comments for this painting as it is with many of the artist's earliest paintings.

Woodward's parent in front of the
Balboa Hotel, Newport Beach, CA in Au-
gust of 1906, three weeks before acci-
dent the left him permanently paralysed.

Editor's Note:

This painting was one of 7 paintings to exhibit at RSW's Alma mater Bradley Polytechnic Institute's (in 1919 Bradley College and today Bradley University) 7th Annual Art Exhibition in 1919. Though he did not attend the event, it would be a triumphant return to Peoria in spirit. Bradley was very important to Woodward, he earned his high diploma (1904) from the school and remain there for another two years as a teaching assistant in Literature while taking college preparatory classes. He would leave Peoria in May of 1906 to join his parents in Los Angeles, CA.

Three months later, on Labor Day morning he and his friends (many his Bradley friends such as, Victor West, Joseph Cowell and Fred Bourland) would return from a weekend of camping. Getting cleaned up to go to breakfast with his parents, Woodward while removing a sweater over his holstered revolver accidentally caused the gun to discharge. The accident leaving him paralysed from the chest down for the remainder of his life.

The artist's signature in the upper right-hand corner

⮞  Read the story of RSW's Accident
⮞  Visit the Bradley Exhibit page
⮞  Read this article on RSW by a
      former classmate.

The Peoria Star, April 27, 1919

The Peoria Star, April 27, 1919: ⮞

"...of these probably the strongest is Out of the Mist, two small beech trees standing alone with their brilliant yellow winter leaves against a misty forest in which the evergreens are dominant. The friendliness and cheer of the beeches and the mystery of the forest gives a human quality to the picture which is unusual for one of its class, and the coloring and technique are fine."

⮞ All of the articles linked to this exhibit and the great "interest" in Woodward's appearance. We stressed the word interest because every article uses similar phrasing suggesting that the information is coming from what is called a "press kit," an information packet given to the local press.

The Peoria Star has an advantage over the competitors because RSW has a classmate on the staff and so there are details not found in other papers. Two articles on Woodward appeared in the Peoria Star on the same day. This one is about the event, the other focused on the artist.

Woodward friend and classmate
at both Bradley and the School of Fine
Art, Boston- - Joseph Cowell.

Still, this article informs us that RSW did not start painting seriously, "only about twenty months ago," which is incorrect. This must be a misunderstanding between the reviewer and the friend Chas Lambert. The artist sold his first painting about twenty months prior. We know from Chas, RSW started "painting" professionally in April of 1917, two years ago, almost to the day.

Woodward's dear friend, Joseph Cowell is mentioned in the article! He sent four water colors to the Bradley show made when he was in Europe servicing in the military in World War I. The two would remain life long friends. The picture to the left is of Cowell when he was teaching at the Massachusetts School of Art (today known as MassArt) in 1924.

The reviewer makes no mention at all about Woodward's accident or paralysis which was probably saved for Chas' piece. There is a mention of a "one-man-show" by the artist in Boston. We could not find any record of one. We believe, again, the reviewer mistook his colleague's information that the artist "exhibited at the Boston Art Club." That was not a one-man-show, but rather, a special exhibit for New England Artist. (Link will open a page for the exhibit in a new tab)

Peoria Journal Transcript
April 20, 1919