L to R: George Woodman in his early studio, Albuquerque, c. 1950s / George Woodman with one of his paintings, Boulder, c. 1970s / George Woodman in his studio, New York, c. 2000s.
George Woodman in his early studio, Albuquerque, c. 1950s.
George Woodman, born on this day in 1932: From the Archives...
"At age fourteen I decided to become an artist, ambition enough for my life,” George Woodman once wrote. And over the next seven decades, he did just that, working fervently as a painter and photographer, and also as a writer and professor. Today, we celebrate George, who was born on this day in 1932!
L to R: All artworks by George Woodman. Exhibition poster for ‘George Woodman,’ Spectrum Gallery, 1970 / “Untitled,” c. 1968-69. 30 x 22 1/4 in. Screenprint on paper / “Untitled,” 1969. 60 x 60 in. Acrylic paint on canvas.
Exhibition poster for ‘George Woodman,’ Spectrum Gallery, 1970.
George Woodman, Spectrum Gallery, 1970: From the Archives...
Fifty-two years ago this week would have been your last chance to see George Woodman’s solo exhibition at Spectrum Gallery in New York City. Woodman’s canvases and prints during this period were characterized by fields of interlocking, repetitive shapes, which, as Robert Berlind later described: “may be seen as a reprise of the transition earlier in the century from a still-descriptive cubism to a “purer” non-referentiality. These paintings are equally in keeping with the contemporaneous interests of Op Art and made a crucial contribution to the Criss-Cross movement which flourished in the 70’s in Boulder and had an impact on the New York scene.”
L to R: Images 1-3: Processing George Woodman’s paper tiles in our archive, 2022 / Images 4-5: George Woodman’s paper tile installation, Denver Art Museum, 1980 / Images 6-7: George Woodman’s paper tile installation, unknown location, 1981.
Processing George Woodman’s paper tiles in our archive, 2022.
George Woodman's paper tiles, 1980-81: From the Archives...
Although the Woodman Family Foundation archives are starting to take shape, there is still much more material to process before we are ready to open them up to scholars and researchers. Currently, we are processing George Woodman’s paper tiles and related plans, descriptions and documentation so that we can better understand this key aspect of his practice, which took his work with pattern off the canvas and into space and situation.
L to R: All artworks by George Woodman. “Cannon," 1980. 66 x 66 in. Acrylic paint on canvas / Images 2-6: Pages from the exhibition catalogue for “19 Artists—Emergent Americans,” The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York / "La Grande Fontaine du Printemps," 1980. 85 x 84 in. Acrylic paint on canvas / "Tessellation Sky,” 1975. 54 1/2 x 54 1/2 in. Acrylic paint on canvas. Collection The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.
George Woodman. “Cannon," 1980. 66 x 66 in. Acrylic paint on canvas.
George Woodman, "19 Artists—Emergent Americans," The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, 1981: From the Archives...
Forty-one years ago, 19 Artists—Emergent Americans was presented at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York featuring seven paintings by George Woodman, among work by eighteen of his contemporaries including Barbara Kruger, Guy de Cointet, and Manny Farber. The exhibition reflected curator Peter Frank’s desire to present the artists’ work as a series of small retrospectives. “What I have sought to assemble at the Guggenheim Museum is the skilled and confident visual articulation of engrossing ideas by individuals who have not been sufficiently recognized for their accomplishment,” he wrote.
George Woodman. “Happy Valentine’s Day,” 2009. 24 x 20 in. Gelatin silver print.
George Woodman. “Happy Valentine’s Day,” 2009. 24 x 20 in. Gelatin silver print.
Happy Valentine's Day from the Woodman Family Foundation
Happy Valentine’s Day from the Woodman Family Foundation!
L to R: Images 1-5: George Woodman’s AAA Triptik map from Boston, MA to Albuquerque, NM, 1954 / George Woodman. “Untitled,” 1955. 26 x 34 in. Oil paint on canvas.
George Woodman’s AAA Triptik map from Boston, MA to Albuquerque, NM, 1954.
George Woodman's trip from Boston, MA to Albuquerque, NM: From the Archives...
In the summer of 1954, recent college graduate George Woodman set out from Boston towards Albuquerque, New Mexico. He had a degree in philosophy, and a desire to study painting in a more concentrated way than he had been able to do as an undergraduate student supplementing his Harvard education with art courses at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. He and Betty Woodman—who had been married just a year—followed this set of Triptik maps across the country, carefully tracking miles and expenses along the way until they arrived at the University of New Mexico.
L to R: Cover and pages from “The Further Adventures of Pinocchio,” published in 2004. Photographs by George Woodman. Poetry by Edwin Frank / Pinocchio in the Woodman Family Foundation archives, 2021.
L to R: Cover of “The Further Adventures of Pinocchio,” published in 2004. Photographs by George Woodman. Poetry by Edwin Frank
A collaborative poem and picture tale by George Woodman and Edwin Frank, "The Further Adventures of Pinocchio," 2004: From the Archives...
Around 2003, George Woodman began incorporating a green wooden Pinocchio into the assemblages of toys, props and images he used to construct his photographs. Pinocchio is an iconic figure in Italian literature and culture, popularized by the classic children’s novel “The Adventures of Pinocchio,” written by Florentine author Carlo Collodi in the late 19th century. Woodman was interested in Pinocchio as the protagonist in his own picture stories.
L to R: Our archives intern Molly McBride Jacobson digs into unsorted family photographs from our archives, 2021.
Our archives intern Molly McBride Jacobson digs into unsorted family photographs from our archives, 2021.
Our archives intern Molly McBride Jacobson digs into unsorted family photographs from our archives: From the Archives...
The Woodman Family Foundation archives include boxes and boxes of family photographs, spanning the early days George and Betty spent in Albuquerque where they welcomed their son Charlie into the world; to their move to a modernist home in Boulder—the site of many birthday parties, pottery sales, impromptu installations of paintings and Francesca’s earliest experiments with “dress up;” until just a few years ago enjoying breakfast with their grandson Alexander in both New York and Antella.
George Woodman. “Untitled,” c. 1970. 96 x 134 in. Acrylic on canvas.
George Woodman. “Untitled,” c. 1970. 96 x 134 in. Acrylic on canvas.
George Woodman, "Untitled," c. 1970
Last week was an exciting one at the Woodman Family Foundation. Upon their long-awaited return to New York, we were treated to a room full of George Woodman’s paintings. And wow we were bowled over by how fresh and contemporary these paintings feel, despite the fact that they were made some 50 years ago. We were struck by the subtle and shifting interplay of color and pattern and the raw intelligence of George's approach, which are slowly revealed over the course of a lingering look. What a pleasure to see these ambitious and original works in person.
L to R: Installation view, “Low Balustrade Screen” (1981) at Haber-Theodore Gallery, New York, 1982 / George Woodman. "Low Balustrade Screen," 1981. 151 1/2 x 42 in. Acrylic on canvas, five panels with hinges / Brochure for exhibition “Partitions” at Pratt Manhattan Center Gallery, New York, 1982.
Installation view, George Woodman, “Low Balustrade Screen” (1981) at Haber-Theodore Gallery, New York, 1982
George Woodman in "Partitions" at Pratt Manhattan Gallery, New York, 1982: From the Archives...
In the fall of 1982, the exhibition “Partitions” at Pratt Manhattan Center Gallery featured the work of 15 artists—including George Woodman—concerned with contemporary interpretations of screens. As hybrid sculptural, decorative, functional objects, partitions and interest in them were a kind of corollary to the burgeoning Pattern and Decoration Movement, and described by critic John Perreault, who wrote the exhibition’s essay, as “ubiquitous,” “a phenomenon,” and “a challenge to some preconceptions about art."
Letter from George Woodman to Francesca Woodman, September 4, 1977.
Letter from George Woodman to Francesca Woodman, September 4, 1977.
A letter from George Woodman to Francesca Woodman, September 4, 1977: From the Archives...
September of 1977 marked the start of new academic year for each of the Woodmans and the pursuit of teaching or studies in four different locations around the US and Europe. Francesca Woodman had just begun her fruitful year in Rome with the RISD European Honors Program, after spending some time in Antella. In a letter sent to her from Boulder, George Woodman recaps summer travels and reports on the rest of the family’s activities.
L to R: Entrance to the Woodman family’s farmhouse adorned with a Pillow Pitcher by Betty atop a wall of George’s “sgraffito,” 2017 / View of the olive groves from Betty’s studio, 2004 / Betty cutting well-tended roses growing against the wall next to her studio, 2008 / Betty making flower arrangements with roses, dahlias and gerbera daisies from her garden, 2006 / Betty putting fresh flowers in a group of her “Vase and Stand” works, 1984 / Betty, a young family friend, and Francesca, c. late 1960s / Table set for dinner, 2016, photo by Brigid McCaffrey / Generous bowls and baskets full of figs, plums, peaches, grapes, and tomatoes, 2016 / Betty, Charlie and Francesca cooking together, c. early 1970s / George at his studio door, 2006 / A view out from the same door, 2008 / Francesca and Betty holding their bunnies, c. 1968 / Charlie on his motorino, c. late 1960s / Betty and friend with Betty’s triptych “June in Italy” (2001), c. 2001 / George with his sculpture, c. early 1970s / he Woodman family’s patio with potted geraniums and the olive grove in view, c. 1990s / Morning glories climbing George’s “sgrafitto” wall, c. 1990s.
L to R: Entrance to the Woodman family’s farmhouse adorned with a Pillow Pitcher by Betty atop a wall of George’s “sgraffito,” 2017 / George with his sculpture, c. early 1970s / Betty, Charlie and Francesca cooking together, c. early 1970s / Betty cutting well-tended roses growing against the wall next to her studio, 2008.
AUGUST IN ANTELLA
Beginning in the summer of 1968, the Woodman Family spent every summer at their stone farmhouse in Antella, Italy, just outside of Florence. As children, Charlie and Francesca joined their parents and later visited on their own, soaking in Italian culture and influences. Betty and George made some of their most important artistic breakthroughs there—a place George once described as "an artist residency for two.” All summer long, their garden produced abundant food and flowers—the tomatoes were particularly good in August, happily shared with frequent visitors.