RSW's Diary Comments

There are no diary comments for this painting name.

New England Valley, 1921

Editor's Note:

There are a number of questions surrounding this painting. First let us say that we could use a much better picture of the label on the back of the stretcher. It could reveal what year it hung at the J.H. Miller Galleries. Without knowing whether it was 1921 or 1922 , we can't determine: (1) is this one of the earliest examples of Woodward using the Red "S" in his signature, or (2) whether or not this was part of a six to eight, wholesale "lot" purchase by the Miller Gallery that included highly regarded paintings The Golden Barn (NAD, 1918) and New England Valley, (PAoFA, 1921)

Without a date the label will not tell us the year. The 1920s J.H. Miller labels all look the same whether it is 1921, 1922, or 1928, the three years Woodward held one-man shows at the Springfield Gallery. If we had to take an educated guess, we would lean towards 1921 because we only know of 3 of the reported six to eight paintings. Also, the craquelure visible in the painting resembles a couple of know pre-1922 paintings that show the top center of the stretcher canvas being pulled too tight. The craquelure traces the drying of the varnish Woodward used to preserve his work early in his career. We will hold from making a commitment as we hope for more information.

It is difficult to see but RSW's signature from the
painting with the use of "Strong" with the red "S."
This either answers or raises several questions...

This painting for many years was cataloged in the "Unnamed Gallery". We had originally discovered a black and white image of it in an old newspaper clipping. (LINK to this old picture or included it on the alphabetic page) No title was recorded. Recently we were informed that it was located in Arizona. A title was discovered on the back of the stretcher frame. We graciously thank the new owners for allowing us to record here a digital high resolution image.

Name on the the back of the stretcher.

An image of the framers' sticker.

This painting is very similar in style and technique to another one painted at about the same time. See: September Peace. The close up below shows this style well...

For a closer look at the farm. We would love to know the location!