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Robert William Wood (1889-1979)

Robert Wood was born March 4, 1889 in Sandgate, England. His father enrolled him in art school at the age of twelve in Folkstone. He later attended the South Kensington School of Art. In 1910 Wood immigrated to America. Initially, he settled in Illinois and worked as a hired hand on a farm. Wood traveled extensively around America but eventually married Eyssel Del Wagoner in Florida. The couple moved to Ohio, then settled in Seattle Washington. In Seattle Robert Wood was painting what might be called slash art and even produced it in store windows in front of onlookers. Paintings of this period do not seem to be stamped or signed in general. It seems that some more exceptional works may have been signed and certainly some have aliases. The exact length of this stay in Seattle is unclear but seems to include from 1919, possibly earlier, to no later than November 1922 because he was in Portland Oregon by December of that year. He is listed in the Portland City Directory as an artist in 1923 and 1924. There has been some debate about whether these entries are the same Robert Wood but his wifes name Eyssel is also listed thus laying that question to rest. The directory was published in December of the previous year although there must have been some time lag between data collection and publication. Paintings from this Portland period can be found with stamps on the rear, the addresses corresponding to the addresses listed in the city directory. The directory also lists his studio (or gallery?) address in the block across the street from the Multnomah Hotel, a popular tourist destination in its time. The Dec. 1922 address is listed as 9427 57th Av SE. with the gallery at 211 1/2 3rd. The December 1923 address stamp "Robert Wood Artist Office 346 E. 37th Portland Oregon" and the studio version "203 3rd" are usually accompanied by a stamp of a cartoon character man at an easel. Seems he moved the studio a few doors down during the intervening year. Many Robert Wood paintings of this period have no signature or stamp. In the biographical information on Harry Leonard Lopp presented by the Hockaday Museum it mentions that Lopp studied privately with Prof. John Updyke and Robert Wood. This is sketchy information but professor John Updyke is believed to have been a professor at the University of Washington in Seattle and Leonard Lopp had a studio in Seaside Oregon in the 20's so it could be that these contacts were in Washington or Oregon. It would not surprise me to find that Robert Wood also studied under Updyke while in Seattle. In 1923, the Wood family moved to San Antonio, Texas according to his biography "The Last Mountain". It is certainly possible that he had left Portland by the time the Portland City Directory was published in December of 1923. The Last Mountain paints a picture of an artist constantly on the road dragging his family all over the nation and mentions his stay in Portland with one sentance, however this biography was written by a person that would have been very young at the time and probably they would remember the exceptional trips most vividly. I think that the City Directories paint a picture of an artist less itinerant than the biography would lead us to believe. In San Antonio he studied at the San Antonio Art School with Spanish colorist Jose Arpa y Perea (1860-1952). In the latter part of the 1920’s, Wood's new mature style seems to have begun. Influenced by the work of Texas painters Robert Onderdonk (1853-1917) and Julian Onderdonk (1882-1922), Robert Wood painted the Texas landscape with Red Oak trees and Bluebonnets of the area. In 1925, Wood divorced his wife. In 1932, he moved to the scenic loop on the outskirts of San Antonio. Robert Wood and his second wife Tula, moved to Laguna Beach, California in 1941. He was a member of the Laguna Art Association and exhibited at the annual Laguna Festival of the Arts.
In 1948, the Woods moved to Woodstock, New York. While here he started having reproductions of his works done which led to his becoming a household name. After a few years he moved back to California living in various places and continued with his artwork till he died in 1979. Robert Wood did use aliases on occasion at least until 1940. Some of these are P Putnam, R Redmann, Trebor, and G. Day.

Paintings