Wednesday, August 14, 2019

Robert Wood's landscape prints

One of the most popular print artists in mid-20th century America was Robert W. Wood (1889-1979).

Robert Wood, October Morn
His print October Morn sold more than a million copies in less than two weeks. 



He painted scenes of the Catskills of New York, the Rocky Mountains, The Grand Tetons, and Texas Hill Country.



He grew up in England, but spent the rest of his long life in America. He lived in various places in the USA and traveled all over the country looking for subjects.



A prolific painter, he produced over 5,000 paintings, many of them being made into prints during his heyday from the 1950s to the 1970s.

He also produced a few art instruction books, including:
How Robert Wood Paints Landscapes and Seascapes
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Bio on RobertWood.net

10 comments:

  1. I have one such print above my computer! It's framed and finished to look like a painting (with some kind of varnish brushed over it, dated 1956). It belonged to my grandparents and always reminds me of their home.

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    1. Is it worth anything? I have one too

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    2. Hey I have that too. As old as I am. Love it.

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  2. Growing up, we had the By The Sawkill print (framed like a painting). I have the Foster book too. He was a great professional painter.

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  3. Love his golden tinged seascapes.

    What occured to me: all his landscapes are unpeopled - not even a bird around.

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  4. Rich, I noticed that too. I was going to mention that there's nary an animal or a person or a road or house or a telephone pole. But then doing a search I found a few of his paintings with rustic cabins and dirt roads.

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  5. Nellie Gill emailed me with the following story:
    "Years ago I walked into a San Antonio gallery (the gallery is no longer in business) and commented to the friendly lady working there on a Robert Wood they had hanging. She told me that she was Robert Wood's daughter! She told me about growing up during the depression and him painting on the inside of shoe boxes to have something to paint on. She also told me that he drew constantly and drew on whatever was at hand. When at restaurants he always drew on the napkins. She remarked that if the waitresses had been smart they would have kept the napkins."

    Thanks for letting me share that, Nellie!

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  6. I just took some things down to my local thrift today and upon entering was met with a Robert Wood prominently displayed near the entrance. It looked odd because while it was something like 20x30, it was obviously enlarged from a much smaller painting because the prominent impasto brushstrokes looked huge.

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  7. A print of that fall landscape (top photo) by Wood hung in the living room of my youth. I remember my father often looking at it and commenting how good Mr. Wood was at simplifying complexity. Inspirational. And still.

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