The Life and Art of William Woodward
Born in Seekonk, United States, William Woodward was an American artist and educator. His early interest in art was sparked by his Uncle George, who produced crayon portraits of family members. Following an exposure to art exhibitions at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition, Woodward underwent seven years of continuous training, studying at the Rhode Island School of Design and the Massachusetts Art Normal School. In 1884, he was recruited to teach fine arts, mechanical drawing, and architectural drawing at Tulane University. His artistic development took a new direction after a summer study at the Académie Julian in Paris, where he encountered Impressionist works.
Woodward became widely known for his impressionist paintings of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. He focused intensely on the Vieux Carré, documenting the city's cultural heritage through vignettes of daily life, such as street cleaners, milkmaids, and women at market. His style assimilated Impressionist tenets, utilizing a lightened palette and softened contours to capture light and moisture. Beyond painting, he was active in architecture, serving as a Professor of Drawing and Architecture at Tulane, and was a dedicated preservationist who fought to save historic structures like The Cabildo.
Later Years and Legacy
In his later years, Woodward explored printmaking using Fiberloid as a matrix, executing 115 etchings. His work often recorded historic landmarks that were no longer standing. In 1938, he published French Quarter Etchings, which included architectural views with annotations regarding the history and renovation of various structures. After a spinal injury in 1921 while painting a mural for the United Fruit Company, he retired to Biloxi, Mississippi, in 1923. There, he remained active as a founder of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Art Association until his death.
