RSW's Diary Comments

Editor's Note:

The Tranquil Hour, c. 1922

There is no diary comment for this painting specifically. However there are numerous paintings of this subject, all slightly varying in one way or another. Surprisingly, not one of the versions of this subject has a diary entry!

To the right is another version of the same subject and what we mean by that is the snow covered stones that appear in the scene. There are other "Winter Evening Stream" paintings with different stones in different locations. You can imagine how hard it is to keep them all straight. Making matters worse, Woodward also made these Winter Stream paintings in both in a landscape format, like this 24" x 36" painting OR he did them in what we call an "upright" or portrait format like the painting seen below... giving them similar names!

A Tranquil Hour, c. 1922

From a letter by the current owner of this painting:

"This dark painting hung above my great aunt's desk in Greenfield for many years.  I spent a great deal of time in her study. The painting intrigued this young girl, who saw something of the 'Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow' in it. Most of my great aunt's things went to the opening of a museum in Deerfield, but my father bought this painting so that I could have it eventually."

This painting to the left is also a great example of the slight differences in the snow-covered stones.