Featured Artwork: Unnamed: Out of the Past

Diary Comments from Out of the Past:

"Painted in summer of 1930. My first painting of the old Hitchcock Elm in old Deerfield. The house, once the studio of George Fuller, now owned by his son Arthur Fuller. Sold from my first Macbeth Gallery Exhibition to Mr. and Mrs. Francis M. Whitehouse of New York and Manchester, Mass. (Mr. Whitehouse, 1942 died a few years ago."

This picture came to us recently from its current owner. It is signed by RSW but the name is unknown at this time. At some time, the painting was "reframed" or swapped frames with New England Heritage because that was the label found on the back of the frame. Then whoever made the switch applied a paper backing covering the stretcher where its name may be found.

Woodward painted a number of paintings of the "Little Brown House" in Deerfield and its massive Elm. The Elm was affectionately called the "Hitchcock Elm" for the family that owned the house for many years. There are two clear differences between Hitchcock Elm and Out of the Past. They are found in the shadows and lighting of the road and roof. This piece matches exactly with that of Out of the Past, however, because RSW painted a number of these we are not ready to call it Out of the Past, until we confirm it visually.