"Painted in 1936. The present 'Gandy' place over at Dodge Corners in Hawley. Widely exhibited. Once at Springfield Museum in exhibition of noted Americana called Future Forefathers, in 1939. Bought in 1945 by Mrs. Roger R. Smith of 75 Elm Street, Gardner, Massachusetts."
This painting hung at the 1944 Mr. & Mrs. Roger Smith Exhibition. A private exhibition of remarkable painting arranged by F. Earl Williams. As far as we know this was the only exhibition this painting was displayed. Go to the bottom of this page for more...
When we first came across the photo of this painting hanging on Williams' wall, we initially believed it was From a Mountain Farm. But it
was not long to realize the two painting are very different. For one (1) thing, the farmhouse looked farther away. Second (2) the sky looked much bigger and (3) if you look closely
From a Mountain Farm has a man out front of the house.
It is amazing to us what Woodward can do with perspective by
simply changing canvas sizes. The 25 x 30 aspect ratio is more panoramic. It appears wider and so RSW draws you in closer to the house and the sea of hills behind it. The 27 x 30 aspet ratio is more
square and so the expanse of the sky gives the appearance of overwhelming the house and hills. It is remarkable that just two inches, one way or another, can make such a dramatic effect on both
composition and thus the context by which it is viewed..
We suspect that From a Mountain Farm was most likely the original oil painting,
given that the sketch more closely resembles it. From a Mountain Farm exhibited a number of times and Woodward made a diary
entry in his painting journal regarding it. There is, unfortunately, no mention of this painting and so we have no more to offer.
We can say it was mistakenly listed as From a Mountain Farm in our exhibition list. It is clearly a different painting.
It could also be that we have the names mixed up and what we believe is From a Mountain Farm is the unknown name.
To the right: is a photograph of Portrait of a
Shadow, along with A Mountain Farm hanging on the wall for a private exhibition in the
home of Mr. & Mrs. Roger Smith of Gardner, MA, December, 1944. The picture was taken by Woodward friend, educator, and amateur photographer
F. Earl Williams. Williams was once the principal of Gardner High School and so we believe he had something to do with
arranging this rare exhibition of Woodward's paintings in a private residence. The three missing photographs are New
England Impressions, Winter Farms, and From the
North Window. The paintings photographed are as follows in pairs: Portrait of a Shadow and A Mountain Farm,
April Sun and Frost on the Window, A Winter Song*
and The Big Chimney*, there is the chalk drawing The Road Home, the
oil A Winter Afternoon and other chalk Mountain Meadow
together and then Tranquility, and The Little Red Barn* as singles.
And what an exhibition! Worthy of any New York or Boston Gallery, it featured a number of Woodward's most exhibited editorial paintings going back as far as 1935 [noted
by an asterisk*] Two of the paintings hanging at the exhibit, A Winter Song and New England Impression previously hung at the 1939 Golden Gate
Exposition in San Francisco and the 1939 New York World's Fair respectively.