William Woodward (artist)
Encyclopedia
William Woodward was a U.S. artist and educator, best known for his impressionist
paintings of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast of the United States
.
Woodward was born in Seekonk, Massachusetts
. His younger brother Ellsworth Woodward
also became a notable artist. William Woodward studied art at the Rhode Island School of Design
, and later at the Académie Julian
where he received instruction from Gustave Boulanger
and Jules Lefebvre.
In 1884 Woodward was hired to teach fine art, mechanical drawing, and architectural drawing at Tulane University
in New Orleans. He became interested in the history and architecture of the city, especially the old French Quarter
, which at the time had become largely neglected with many of the historic structures in a state of decay. In 1895 he led a successful campaign to save the Cabildo
from demolition. His series of paintings of French Quarter scenes helped shape awareness of the neighborhood's architectural heritage and spurred the formation of the Vieux Carre Commission to help preserve it.
He started teaching architectural engineering
at Tulane in 1894 and helped found the Tulane School of Architecture
in 1907, as well as the Newcomb School of Art.
In 1921 he suffered an accident and used a wheelchair for the rest of his life. He retired from Tulane the following year, and in 1923 moved to Biloxi, Mississippi
. He invented the fiberloid dry etching
process. He continued to paint and produce etchings for the rest of his life.
in the preservation of the Vieux Carre
(French Quarter). He is best known for using his art to streamline the preservation movement in 1920's New Orleans, almost single-handedly saving the Cabildo
(a New Orleans Historic Landmark). In 1894, Woodward founded the architecture school and art programs of Tulane University
. He invented a dry-etching process called fiberloid which is used by artists today. Devoting almost all of his work to the French Quarter, William Woodward created hundreds of drawings, oil paintings, watercolors, oil crayons and etchings of the city he loved. He is and will always be intertwined with art in New Orleans.
Because of his unwavering interest in architecture, William Woodward's work shows depth in development. His focus on architecture included drawings, watercolor paintings, oil paintings, oil crayon, and etchings. After six decades of concentrated work on architectural scenes, he published his etchings of the Vieux Carré
. From his earliest days, Woodward produced views of his family's homestead and other New England landscapes. Invariably, farm buildings and other structures in these early works are crisply delineated.
when Woodward was a small child. In his biographical note, Woodward wrote of his Uncle George, "unmarried and seems to be the first in the family to develop art tendencies, producing crayon portraits of family members including one of my mother, which had much to do in causing me to turn to art for a life work." William's interest in art intensified after a visit to the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition
where he and his younger brother saw art exhibitions. After this exposure to fine art, Woodward began an intense seven years of continuous art training. He undertook studies at the Rhode Island School of Design
, newly established in response to the Philadelphia Exposition and based on the indivisible relationship of art to industry. This concept remained with Woodward throughout his life. In preparation for a teaching career, Woodward studied at the Massachusetts Art Normal School, where his interest in architecture began.
recruited Woodward to teach fine art, mechanical drawing, and architectural drawing at Tulane University
. Woodward, who had taught at the School of Design while still a student, was also a student-teacher at the Art Normal School, a position he resigned before departing for New Orleans. Continuing his studies by correspondence, Woodward graduated in 1886. On June 1, he married native New Orleanian Louise Amelia Giesen, who had been his student. Woodward extended their honeymoon through Scotland and England to include a three-month summer study at the Académie Julian
in Paris. This sojourn provided a new direction for his artistic development, for there he saw Impressionist works, a style he soon adapted to his architectural scenes.
Woodward's impression of the multicultural Vieux Carré in a crescent of the Mississippi River
provided life-long artistic inspiration. Unlike the wide-open spaces of his youth, the Quarter was crowded with European-style residences alongside docks, open air markets, dry goods stores, and hardware stores, all located in the shadow of St. Louis Cathedral
on the city's main square.
Woodward's impressionistic views of the Vieux Carré were paramount in focusing attention on the historical structures, many of which were being recklessly destroyed. In 1895 Woodward was in the forefront of the movement against the demolition of the Cabildo
, the seat of government during the Spanish Colonial period
, rebuilt after the 1794 fire and one of the few surviving structures of the colonial era. This battle for historic preservation in the French Quarter ultimately led to the establishment of the Vieux Carré Commission.
Woodward was the first artist to focus intensely on the Vieux Carré "before it was fashionable," documenting the city's rich cultural heritage in vignettes of daily lifeÑstreet cleaners, milkmaids driving drayage carts, women at market, and residents otherwise engaged in their daily routines. These scenes have been said to "rank as his best of the urban fabric of New Orleans." He assimilated Impressionist tenets with his own style and ultimately developed a manner of artistic rendering suitable for capturing the soft light, moisture, and romantic essence of the French Quarter. His palette lightened and the contours of figures and architecture softened. His figures, which are imbued with a sense of immediacy, enliven his architectural scenes.
Woodward was active in every facet of architecture, including planning for Tulane's new buildings and the disposition of interior rooms and studios. Upon the organization of the College of Technology, Woodward was appointed Professor of Drawing and Architecture, and worked incessantly toward the establishment of a school of architecture, "to introduce in this region an awareness of professional values in design, and especially to provide exercises in the skills of mechanical, freehand and architectural drawing." Woodward's goal was ultimately achieved in 1907 when Tulane formally established the School of Architecture.
and watercolor painting, French Quarter Market.
Woodward's concern for architectural preservation is also evident in the appearance of Jackson Square
in his view of the Cabildo from St. Peter Street. One sees beyond the arches of the loggia into the greenery of the Square, the equestrian statue of Andrew Jackson
, to the lower Pontalba Building and an outbuilding that no longer exists. Woodward printed the name of the Cabildo in block letters to underscore the historical importance of the structure, a device he used in another image of the Cabildo's gate.
was named, was killed in World War I
. Woodward painted the young aviator's portrait posthumously, using photographs and including the airplane in which Callender crashed, with its propeller serving to mark his grave.
Woodward used a wheelchair following surgery in 1921 to remove a tumor. Retiring to the Mississippi Gulf Coast
in 1923, he continued his preservationist activities. His discovery of a plastic plate, Fiberloid, as a matrix for printmaking suited his soft-focused street scenes. Within five years he executed 115 etchings, which were then printed by his brother, Ellsworth. In 1938 William Woodward published French Quarter Etchings, reproducing fifty-four architectural views with annotations regarding history, renovation, and destruction of the structures. Many of his paintings, drawings, and etchings record historic landmarks that were no longer standing at the time of the publication. Another of Woodward's legacies comes through the 1964 posthumous publication of a small guide book, Early Views of the Vieux Carré A Guide to the French Quarter, which illustrates thirty-three of his architectural drawings and etchings. This spiral-bound guidebook, which sold out before it was released, ultimately sold over thirty thousand copies.
William Woodward's reputation has been cyclical, but his work is appreciated for the French Quarter architecture. A dynamic force in New Orleans from 1884 to 1921, Woodward continued his activities on the Mississippi Gulf Coast until his death in 1939. Woodward, who spent his lifetime documenting street scenes at a time when many historic landmarks in the Vieux Carré were being demolished, was a pivotal figure in New Orleans art and architecture in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Impressionism
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s...
paintings of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast of the United States
Gulf Coast of the United States
The Gulf Coast of the United States, sometimes referred to as the Gulf South, South Coast, or 3rd Coast, comprises the coasts of American states that are on the Gulf of Mexico, which includes Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida and are known as the Gulf States...
.
Woodward was born in Seekonk, Massachusetts
Seekonk, Massachusetts
Seekonk is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States, on the Massachusetts border. It was incorporated in 1812 from the western half of Rehoboth. The population was 13,722 at the 2010 census. Until 1862, the town of Seekonk also included what is now the City of East Providence, Rhode...
. His younger brother Ellsworth Woodward
Ellsworth Woodward
Ellsworth Woodward . During the late 19th Century in New Orleans, Ellsworth and his older brother William Woodward were two of the most influential figures in Southern art...
also became a notable artist. William Woodward studied art at the Rhode Island School of Design
Rhode Island School of Design
Rhode Island School of Design is a fine arts and design college located in Providence, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1877. Located at the base of College Hill, the RISD campus is contiguous with the Brown University campus. The two institutions share social, academic, and community resources and...
, and later at the Académie Julian
Académie Julian
The Académie Julian was an art school in Paris, France.Rodolphe Julian established the Académie Julian in 1868 at the Passage des Panoramas, as a private studio school for art students. The Académie Julian not only prepared students to the exams at the prestigious École des Beaux-Arts, but offered...
where he received instruction from Gustave Boulanger
Gustave Boulanger
Gustave Clarence Rodolphe Boulanger was a French figure painter known for his Neo-Grec style. He was born at Paris, studied with Delaroche and Jollivet, and in 1849 took the Prix de Rome. His paintings are prime examples of academic art of the time, particularly history painting...
and Jules Lefebvre.
In 1884 Woodward was hired to teach fine art, mechanical drawing, and architectural drawing at Tulane University
Tulane University
Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States...
in New Orleans. He became interested in the history and architecture of the city, especially the old French Quarter
French Quarter
The French Quarter, also known as Vieux Carré, is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. When New Orleans was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city was originally centered on the French Quarter, or the Vieux Carré as it was known then...
, which at the time had become largely neglected with many of the historic structures in a state of decay. In 1895 he led a successful campaign to save the Cabildo
The Cabildo
The Cabildo was the seat of colonial government in New Orleans, Louisiana, and is now a museum. The Cabildo is located along Jackson Square, adjacent to St. Louis Cathedral.- History :The original Cabildo was destroyed in the Great New Orleans Fire...
from demolition. His series of paintings of French Quarter scenes helped shape awareness of the neighborhood's architectural heritage and spurred the formation of the Vieux Carre Commission to help preserve it.
He started teaching architectural engineering
Architectural engineering
Architectural engineering, also known as building engineering, is the application of engineering principles and technology to building design and construction...
at Tulane in 1894 and helped found the Tulane School of Architecture
Tulane School of Architecture
The Tulane School of Architecture or is the school of architecture at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana. The school has a student body of approximately 300 students and is known for the scholarly productivity of its faculty, its collegian atmosphere and unique studio culture.Recognized...
in 1907, as well as the Newcomb School of Art.
In 1921 he suffered an accident and used a wheelchair for the rest of his life. He retired from Tulane the following year, and in 1923 moved to Biloxi, Mississippi
Biloxi, Mississippi
Biloxi is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, in the United States. The 2010 census recorded the population as 44,054. Along with Gulfport, Biloxi is a county seat of Harrison County....
. He invented the fiberloid dry etching
Etching
Etching is the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio in the metal...
process. He continued to paint and produce etchings for the rest of his life.
Accomplishments
In New Orleans, Louisiana, Woodward played a pivotal role alongside William FaulknerWilliam Faulkner
William Cuthbert Faulkner was an American writer from Oxford, Mississippi. Faulkner worked in a variety of media; he wrote novels, short stories, a play, poetry, essays and screenplays during his career...
in the preservation of the Vieux Carre
Vieux Carre
Vieux Carré may refer to:*New Orleans's French Quarter* Vieux Carré, a play by Tennessee Williams...
(French Quarter). He is best known for using his art to streamline the preservation movement in 1920's New Orleans, almost single-handedly saving the Cabildo
Cabildo
Cabildo can refer to:* Cabildo , a former Spanish municipal administrative unit governed by a council* Cabildo , African ethnic associations in colonial Cuba* Cabildo , an Argentine nationalist Catholic magazine...
(a New Orleans Historic Landmark). In 1894, Woodward founded the architecture school and art programs of Tulane University
Tulane University
Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States...
. He invented a dry-etching process called fiberloid which is used by artists today. Devoting almost all of his work to the French Quarter, William Woodward created hundreds of drawings, oil paintings, watercolors, oil crayons and etchings of the city he loved. He is and will always be intertwined with art in New Orleans.
Because of his unwavering interest in architecture, William Woodward's work shows depth in development. His focus on architecture included drawings, watercolor paintings, oil paintings, oil crayon, and etchings. After six decades of concentrated work on architectural scenes, he published his etchings of the Vieux Carré
Vieux Carre
Vieux Carré may refer to:*New Orleans's French Quarter* Vieux Carré, a play by Tennessee Williams...
. From his earliest days, Woodward produced views of his family's homestead and other New England landscapes. Invariably, farm buildings and other structures in these early works are crisply delineated.
Early life
As a youth Woodward was accustomed to the rural landscape and the close proximity of family and relatives. His family was supportive of his interest in art, an interest he attributed to an uncle, his mother's brother, who had been killed in the American Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
when Woodward was a small child. In his biographical note, Woodward wrote of his Uncle George, "unmarried and seems to be the first in the family to develop art tendencies, producing crayon portraits of family members including one of my mother, which had much to do in causing me to turn to art for a life work." William's interest in art intensified after a visit to the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition
Centennial Exposition
The Centennial International Exhibition of 1876, the first official World's Fair in the United States, was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 10 to November 10, 1876, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia. It was officially...
where he and his younger brother saw art exhibitions. After this exposure to fine art, Woodward began an intense seven years of continuous art training. He undertook studies at the Rhode Island School of Design
Rhode Island School of Design
Rhode Island School of Design is a fine arts and design college located in Providence, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1877. Located at the base of College Hill, the RISD campus is contiguous with the Brown University campus. The two institutions share social, academic, and community resources and...
, newly established in response to the Philadelphia Exposition and based on the indivisible relationship of art to industry. This concept remained with Woodward throughout his life. In preparation for a teaching career, Woodward studied at the Massachusetts Art Normal School, where his interest in architecture began.
Professional life and artistic style
In 1884 William Preston JohnstonWilliam Preston Johnston
William Preston Johnston was a lawyer, scholar, poet, and Confederate soldier.-Biography:Johnston was born in Louisville, Kentucky to Albert Sidney Johnston and Henritta Preston. At the age of four, his mother died, and he was reared by her family members...
recruited Woodward to teach fine art, mechanical drawing, and architectural drawing at Tulane University
Tulane University
Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States...
. Woodward, who had taught at the School of Design while still a student, was also a student-teacher at the Art Normal School, a position he resigned before departing for New Orleans. Continuing his studies by correspondence, Woodward graduated in 1886. On June 1, he married native New Orleanian Louise Amelia Giesen, who had been his student. Woodward extended their honeymoon through Scotland and England to include a three-month summer study at the Académie Julian
Académie Julian
The Académie Julian was an art school in Paris, France.Rodolphe Julian established the Académie Julian in 1868 at the Passage des Panoramas, as a private studio school for art students. The Académie Julian not only prepared students to the exams at the prestigious École des Beaux-Arts, but offered...
in Paris. This sojourn provided a new direction for his artistic development, for there he saw Impressionist works, a style he soon adapted to his architectural scenes.
Woodward's impression of the multicultural Vieux Carré in a crescent of the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
provided life-long artistic inspiration. Unlike the wide-open spaces of his youth, the Quarter was crowded with European-style residences alongside docks, open air markets, dry goods stores, and hardware stores, all located in the shadow of St. Louis Cathedral
St. Louis Cathedral, New Orleans
Saint Louis Cathedral , also known as the Basilica of St. Louis, King of France, is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans; it has the distinction of being the oldest continuously operating cathedral in the United States...
on the city's main square.
Woodward's impressionistic views of the Vieux Carré were paramount in focusing attention on the historical structures, many of which were being recklessly destroyed. In 1895 Woodward was in the forefront of the movement against the demolition of the Cabildo
Cabildo
Cabildo can refer to:* Cabildo , a former Spanish municipal administrative unit governed by a council* Cabildo , African ethnic associations in colonial Cuba* Cabildo , an Argentine nationalist Catholic magazine...
, the seat of government during the Spanish Colonial period
Spanish colonization of the Americas
Colonial expansion under the Spanish Empire was initiated by the Spanish conquistadores and developed by the Monarchy of Spain through its administrators and missionaries. The motivations for colonial expansion were trade and the spread of the Christian faith through indigenous conversions...
, rebuilt after the 1794 fire and one of the few surviving structures of the colonial era. This battle for historic preservation in the French Quarter ultimately led to the establishment of the Vieux Carré Commission.
Woodward was the first artist to focus intensely on the Vieux Carré "before it was fashionable," documenting the city's rich cultural heritage in vignettes of daily lifeÑstreet cleaners, milkmaids driving drayage carts, women at market, and residents otherwise engaged in their daily routines. These scenes have been said to "rank as his best of the urban fabric of New Orleans." He assimilated Impressionist tenets with his own style and ultimately developed a manner of artistic rendering suitable for capturing the soft light, moisture, and romantic essence of the French Quarter. His palette lightened and the contours of figures and architecture softened. His figures, which are imbued with a sense of immediacy, enliven his architectural scenes.
Woodward was active in every facet of architecture, including planning for Tulane's new buildings and the disposition of interior rooms and studios. Upon the organization of the College of Technology, Woodward was appointed Professor of Drawing and Architecture, and worked incessantly toward the establishment of a school of architecture, "to introduce in this region an awareness of professional values in design, and especially to provide exercises in the skills of mechanical, freehand and architectural drawing." Woodward's goal was ultimately achieved in 1907 when Tulane formally established the School of Architecture.
Influence on architecture and preservation
The citizen most identified with architecture at that time, Woodward also chaired the Art Committee of the Artists' Association of New Orleans, and thus spoke with the authority of both positions. Allison Owen, Woodward's former student who continued architectural studies in Boston, supported passage of a city ordinance to establish the Cabildo as a museum. With this successful movement, Woodward's preservationist activities began, as did the preservationist movement in the Vieux Carré. As Woodward, who reportedly "set up on street corners or mid-street," documented the historic quarter, his awareness of historic preservation increased accordingly. His observance of the ambiance of the Quarter is manifest in his earliest works, particularly an 1891 gouacheGouache
Gouache[p], also spelled guache, the name of which derives from the Italian guazzo, water paint, splash or bodycolor is a type of paint consisting of pigment suspended in water. A binding agent, usually gum arabic, is also present, just as in watercolor...
and watercolor painting, French Quarter Market.
Woodward's concern for architectural preservation is also evident in the appearance of Jackson Square
Jackson Square, New Orleans
Jackson Square, also known as Place d'Armes, is a historic park in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1960.-Design:...
in his view of the Cabildo from St. Peter Street. One sees beyond the arches of the loggia into the greenery of the Square, the equestrian statue of Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...
, to the lower Pontalba Building and an outbuilding that no longer exists. Woodward printed the name of the Cabildo in block letters to underscore the historical importance of the structure, a device he used in another image of the Cabildo's gate.
Later life and legacy
Among Woodward's students were the most respected practicing architects of the day: Richard Koch, Ernest Lee Jahncke, Edgar Stone, and Emile Weil, as well as Charles Bein, Frederick Duncan "Fritz" Parham, and Alvin Callender, the latter two who assisted Woodward in documenting the features and dimensions of the St. Louis Hotel while it was being demolished in 1917. Callender, after whom Alvin A. Callender Air FieldNaval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans
Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans is a base of the United States military located in Belle Chasse, unincorporated Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, United States. NAS JRB New Orleans is home to the 159th Fighter Wing as well as other naval activities...
was named, was killed in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Woodward painted the young aviator's portrait posthumously, using photographs and including the airplane in which Callender crashed, with its propeller serving to mark his grave.
Woodward used a wheelchair following surgery in 1921 to remove a tumor. Retiring to the Mississippi Gulf Coast
Mississippi Gulf Coast
The Mississippi Gulf Coast refers to the three Mississippi counties which lie on the Gulf of Mexico: Hancock, Harrison and Jackson counties.The region was severely damaged by Hurricane Camille in 1969 and again by Hurricane Katrina in 2005....
in 1923, he continued his preservationist activities. His discovery of a plastic plate, Fiberloid, as a matrix for printmaking suited his soft-focused street scenes. Within five years he executed 115 etchings, which were then printed by his brother, Ellsworth. In 1938 William Woodward published French Quarter Etchings, reproducing fifty-four architectural views with annotations regarding history, renovation, and destruction of the structures. Many of his paintings, drawings, and etchings record historic landmarks that were no longer standing at the time of the publication. Another of Woodward's legacies comes through the 1964 posthumous publication of a small guide book, Early Views of the Vieux Carré A Guide to the French Quarter, which illustrates thirty-three of his architectural drawings and etchings. This spiral-bound guidebook, which sold out before it was released, ultimately sold over thirty thousand copies.
William Woodward's reputation has been cyclical, but his work is appreciated for the French Quarter architecture. A dynamic force in New Orleans from 1884 to 1921, Woodward continued his activities on the Mississippi Gulf Coast until his death in 1939. Woodward, who spent his lifetime documenting street scenes at a time when many historic landmarks in the Vieux Carré were being demolished, was a pivotal figure in New Orleans art and architecture in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.