[IMAGE, top of page]: Woodward in wheelchair outside his Heath Studio

[IMAGE CAPTION]: Heath Studio

[IMAGE CREDIT]: Courtesy F. Earl Williams

Confined to his wheelchair, Woodward read widely, eager to know of the world around him. Mr. Williams recalls that after returning from a trip to Europe, he and his wife visited the studio and Woodward wanted to see each slide and was anxious to know the story that went with it. He loved music, especially Beethoven. He was a fine host, opening his home to the enjoyment of his friends. The studio was always a welcoming place with its old paneling, bookshelves, fireplace, and plants. There was a color in the red damask table cloth, the old bottles on the window sill, and the bowl of apples that Woodward loved. From time to time there were picnics on the terrace and at other places in the country nearby. He insisted that the grounds around his home be carefully groomed. The lawns were always meticulously cared for and the flowers grew everywhere. This same attention to detail is evident in his paintings. He never signed one with which he was dissatisfied, and many of his pictures were painted over or destroyed.

In his later years, due to a growing deterioration in his health, his paintings were done with great difficulty. Finally he was in such pain that he could hardly hold his brush, yet his final picture, completed two years before his death, has an element of joy in it, a picture of New England in the spring as everything comes into bloom. He never permitted his troubles to show in his work. Robert Strong Woodward has left much behind. He wanted to capture the lands magnificence so that others can see it. Although he has never received the national recognition that he richly deserves, to the people of New England he has left a legacy, for he has caught with his paints the essence of the land he loved.

Woodward left his estate to Dr. Mark Purinton who has kept the studio just as it was at the time of the artist's death on January 28, 1957.

JAMES C. EDWARDS '70