RSW's Diary Comments

There are no diary comments realted to this painting as are many of RSW's earliest paintings.

The signature for this painting is located at the top left of the canvas. It was dated
1919 and does not have the traditional red "S" as the first letter in Strong.

This painting was one of 7 paintings to exhibit at RSW's alma mater Bradley Polytechnic Institute's 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 prepatory 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 would leave him paralysed from the chest down for the remainder of his life.

It would also be his friends from Bradley who would be with him through thick and thin. They would also be instrumental in helping him raise the money to board a train to Boston to attend the Boston Museum School of Fine Arts.

The Peoria Star, Sunday, April 27, 1919
Read the full article here

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."

Peoria Journal Transcript
April 20, 1919