RSW's Diary Comments

The Chinese Lily, 1938, Woodward's
last true still life painting made six years
after making several canvases between 1928
and 1932. We wonder if The Chinese Lily was
a painting made earlier and repainted later
with Woodward destroying the original. None
of the artist's still life's were sold to the public.
All were either kept by the artist for his per-
sonal collection or given to to family or
friends close to him...

"Painted prior to 1930, an autumn still life made in the old studio that burnt in 1933. Yellow and white chrysanthemums in a brown jug backed by a round black Italian plate all against the lower part of an old wall map of Shelburne Falls, grapes and pears and pomegranates grouped on the cabinet around the brown jug. Rather academic and trite in approach but still nice color for the right wall."

Editor's Note:

With the exception of The Chinese Lily in 1938, 1932 would be the last year Woodward would make a still life painting. In January and February of 1932 he would paint My Grandmother's Lamp and Cora and the Amaryllis and paint only The Chinese Lily for the remander of his career.

We have no known reason Woodward painted the The Chinese Lily so many years after leaving still lifes behind. However, the years between 1938 and 1945 Woodward did "repaint" a number of paintings he was never fully satisfied, as well as, experiment with new perspectives, such as, more retangular, panoramic compositions. It was a period of time that coincided with the global turmoil that would lead to the Second World War. We wonder if the world events prompted the uncertainty and angst that disrupted his creativity.

Above is a picture of the Italian plate as it sits
on a shelf in the Southwick studio today. The chipped
edge and crack does not appear in the painting.

One last point we want to make about Under the Village Map and that is the absence of apples in the painting. Yet it is still somewhat related to the apple and not because it has fruit in it, although it is Woodward's only painting with fruit other than the apple. But rather because it has pomegra-nates in it.

The name pomegranate literally means "apple of many seeds," so the artist managed to sneak in apples, without actually painting them. For this reason, we included it in the new (2025) Apples painting gallery. Finally, we also had to ask ourselves how available pomegranates were in the U.S. in the early 20th century and we learned that outside of California, not very common. Perhaps they were shipped to RSW by one of his numerous friends in the state.

Comments in a notebook by RSW:

May 28, 1935: "In my motor car brought home from Myles Standish Hotel : Under the Village Map, 27 x 30" to studio in Buckland."

North Adams Transcript, June 8, 1932

To the Right: North Adams Transcript, June, 1932   ⮞

An article clipping from the New Hamphire Transcript regarding RSW's exhibition at the Deerfield Academy (1932). This painting is one of 12 oil paintings mentioned in the article and one of 20 oil paintings and 10 chalk drawings exhibited. The exhibit was so popular, Deerfield's Headmaster at the time, Frank Boyden, asked if it could be extended through June and close on July 3, 1932.

North Adams Transcript, June 8, 1932

"Under the Village Map, showing a fruit and flower composition arranged below an old map of Shelburne Falls......"

Boston Post, Feb., 1931

"Under the Village Map shaggy yellow and white garden chrysanthemums in stout brown jug hold court amid a wealth of colorful fruit grouped harmoniously about."