Featured Artwork: In Keach's Barn

New Hay, mid-1920s

None.

Editor's Note:

The name of this painting comes from the catalog produced by the Deerfield Academy's 1969-'70 American Studies Group on Woodward. It is one of five paintings we believe are roughly the same scene as New Hay seen to the left. Why the artist appreciated this subject so much is summed up best in a December 1926 article on his successful one-man showing at the Lyman residence in Boston that appeared in the Springfield Union newspaper. The quote is in reference to the painting Old Rafters:

This painting was possibly made special for this, Woodward's first showing at Tryon, as it is important to his message which is specifically referenced in the program's biographical sketch of the artist. It states: "His pictures are the result of self-criticism and a desire to say something that he feels strongly."

From the exhibit program for the
1931 Tryon Gallery at Smith Coll. show

There are six known "inside the barn" pieces of artwork and they are as follows:

• Dusty Rafters *
• In Keach's Barn
• In the Old Barn
• Inside the Barn
• New Hay *
• Old Rafters

Artwork with an image is noted with an asterisk *
We do not know which of the 5 barns on the Keach farm is the subject of this painting but we suspect it may be the The Little Red Barn.