From the Archives
A look back
L to R: Pair: Francesca Woodman, Jardin du Luxembourg, Paris, France, 1960 / Charles Woodman, Jardin du Luxembourg, Paris, France, 1960 / Detail of Betty Woodman and Francesca Woodman / Betty Woodman and Francesca Woodman, Jardin du Luxembourg, Paris, France, 1960 / Charles Woodman, Fontaine des Quatre-Parties-du-Monde, Jardin du Luxembourg, Paris, France, 1960 / Francesca Woodman and Charles Woodman, Paris, France, 1960 / Musée du Louvre, Paris, France, 1960 / Paris, France, 1960 / Betty Woodman and Charles Woodman, Paris, France, 1960. Woodman Family Foundation Archives.
Pair: Francesca Woodman, Jardin du Luxembourg, Paris, France, 1960 / Charles Woodman, Jardin du Luxembourg, Paris, France, 1960. Woodman Family Foundation Archives.
Paris, France, 1960: SUMMER TRAVELS WITH THE WOODMAN FAMILY
The Woodman family spent the year of 1959-1960 on the first of their many trips to Italy together, living near Florence. Betty and George both set up studios there and got to work. They also used their Italian home-base to see the sites around Europe, which meant that Francesca and Charlie began traveling with their parents from a young age. Here they are on a family trip to Paris in 1960, having a fun-filled day in Jardin du Luxembourg, enjoying sweet treats, and visiting museums like the Louvre.
L to R: 1-2: Betty Woodman with Francesca Woodman and Charles Woodman, passport, 1959 / 3-4: George Woodman, passport, 1959 / 5-6: Betty Woodman with Charles Woodman and Francesca Woodman, passport, 1965 / 7-8: George Woodman, passport, 1965 / 9-10: Betty Woodman with Francesca Woodman, passport, 1970. Woodman Family Foundation Archives.
Betty Woodman with Francesca Woodman and Charles Woodman, passport, 1959. Woodman Family Foundation Archives.
The Woodmans' passports, 1959, 1965, and 1970: SUMMER TRAVELS WITH THE WOODMAN FAMILY
As everyone heads out on vacation this August, we’re taking a look back at the Woodman family’s travels throughout the years with images from our archives…Throwback to a time when kids had to be on their moms passport! The Woodman family loved to travel and visited Naples, Milan, Florence, Paris, Quebec, London, Granada, New York City, Croatia (then a part of Yugoslavia), Istanbul, and Copenhagen between 1959 to 1974.
Betty Woodman, Pompei, Metropolitan City of Naples, Campania, Italy, c. 1990s. Woodman Family Foundation Archives.
Betty Woodman, Pompei, Metropolitan City of Naples, Campania, Italy, c. 1990s. Woodman Family Foundation Archive.
Happy birthday to Betty Woodman
Happy birthday to Betty Woodman, who was born on this day in 1930!
L to R: George Woodman, c. 1950s / George Woodman, Mexico, c. 1980. All images Woodman Family Foundation Archives.
George Woodman, c. 1950s. Woodman Family Foundation Archive.
Happy birthday to George Woodman
Happy birthday to George Woodman, who was born on this day in 1932!
L to R: All images George Woodman, ceramic tile installation, 1984, Delavan-Canisius College Station, NFTA-Metro, Buffalo, NY.
George Woodman, ceramic tile installation, 1984, Delavan-Canisius College Station, NFTA-Metro, Buffalo, NY.
George Woodman's ceramic tile installation, 1984, Delavan-Canisius College Station, NFTA-Metro, Buffalo, NY: From the Archives...
In 1984, George Woodman’s first public commission in ceramic tile was installed in the Delavan-Canisius NFTA-Metro station in Buffalo, New York. Three walls in the station’s mezzanine—measuring 11 feet high by 72 feet long in total—are still today covered in pattern made from 8 inch square tiles, greeting riders as they pass from the trains to the street.
L to R: Images 1-5: Betty Woodman and George Woodman working in Bud and Barbara Shark’s studio, Holualoa, Hawaii, 1996 / Image 6: Betty Woodman and George Woodman in front of lava wall, City of Refuge, Hawaii, 1996 / Images 7–8: Betty Woodman and George Woodman, South Point, Hawaii, 1996. All photos by Barbara Shark, courtesy Woodman Family Foundation Archive.
Betty Woodman working in Bud and Barbara Shark’s studio, Holualoa, Hawaii, 1996. Photo by Barbara Shark.
Betty Woodman and George Woodman at Bud and Barbara Shark's studio, Holualoa, Hawaii, 1996: From the Archives...
In January of 1996, Betty and George Woodman escaped a snowy Colorado winter to join their good friends Bud and Barbara Shark in Holualoa on the Big Island of Hawaii.
L to R: All artworks by George Woodman. Images 1-8: Spreads from “George Woodman,” EYEMAZING 4, 2012 / "Loie and Florentine Aristocrat," 2008. 19 1/4 x 13 1/4 in. Oil paint on gelatin silver print / “La Pietra Madonna,” 2007. 12 x 15 in. Oil paint on gelatin silver print / “Nancy with a Green Leg,” 2005. 24 x 20 in. Oil paint on gelatin silver print / “Loie Wearing an 18th Century Sculpture,” 2012. 24 x 20 in. Oil paint on gelatin silver print / “Angel Grieving Over Lion,” 2007. 24 x 20 in. Oil paint on gelatin silver print / “In La Pietra Library,” 2009. 42 x 36 in. Oil paint on gelatin silver print / “Loie Meets a Rousseau,” 2009. 57 1/2 x 39 1/2 in. Gelatin silver print / “Loie Embraces a Piero di Cosimo,” 2009. 24 x 20 in. Gelatin silver print.
Spread from “George Woodman,” EYEMAZING 4, 2012
George Woodman in "EYEMAZING Magazine," 2012: From the Archives...
“The painted photographs of George Woodman are ripe with mental connections, rich evidence of the artist’s talent for noticing, for witnessing, for making new wholeness,” wrote Clayton Maxwell in a 2012 essay for EYEMAZING magazine, which accompanied a portfolio of his photographs combined with oil paint and other images.
L to R: Charles Woodman, Venice, Italy, 1966 / Charles Woodman and Francesca Woodman, Venice, Italy, 1966 / Betty Woodman and Charles Woodman, Venice, Italy, 1966.
Charles Woodman, Venice, Italy, 1966.
The Woodmans in Venice, Italy, 1966: From the Archives...
As this year’s Venice Biennale, “The Milk of Dreams,” nears its end, we’re reminded that over many decades Betty and George Woodman traveled to Venice to take in the Biennale. Their trip in 1966—pictured here—when the family spent the year in Italy, was likely Charlie and Francesca’s first of many visits there, to explore both the exhibition and this captivating city.
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L to R: All artworks by Francesca Woodman. “Untitled,” New York, 1979-80. 4 15/16 x 3 15/16 in / Vintage fox fur from Francesca Woodman’s archives / “Untitled,” New York, 1979-80. 7 1/2 x 4 3/4 in / “Untitled,” New York, 1979. 5 13/16 x 5 13/16 in / “Untitled (from Swan Song series),” Providence, Rhode Island, 1978. 34 1/2 x 40 1/2 in / “Untitled,” Providence, Rhode Island, 1976. 5 3/4 x 5 3/4 in / “Untitled,” Providence, Rhode Island, 1976. 5 7/8 x 5 7/8 in.
Francesca Woodman. “Untitled,” New York, 1979-80. 4 15/16 x 3 15/16 in. Gelatin silver print.
Vintage fox fur from Francesca Woodman's archives used in her work, 1976-80: From the Archives...
The Foundation’s archives include many of the dresses, shoes, scarves, gloves and other clothing that Francesca Woodman used in her photographs and in her daily life. This fox fur, probably picked up at a vintage shop or flea market like much that she wore, makes an appearance in many of her photographs.
L to R: Betty Woodman, Italy, c. 1965-66 / Betty Woodman, Charles Woodman, and Francesca Woodman, Italy, c. 1960s / Charles Woodman and friend, Italy, c. 1966 / Betty Woodman and friends, Italy, c. 1966 / Betty Woodman, Francesca Woodman, and friend, Antella, Italy, c. 1968 / Betty Woodman and friends, Antella, Italy, c. 1980 / Betty Woodman, Antella, Italy, c. 1995 / George Woodman, Antella, Italy, c. 1995 / Betty Woodman, George Woodman, and friends, Antella, Italy, c. 1995.
Betty Woodman, Italy, c. 1965-66.
Dining al fresco with the Woodman family, c. 1960s-1995: From the Archives...
The Woodman family spent many summer days and evenings dining al fresco in Italy with family and friends throughout the years. Most of these snapshots were taken by George, who often had his camera in hand and documented their family life.
L to R: George Woodman, c. 1960s-1990s.
George Woodman, c. 1960s.
George Woodman's summer travels, c. 1960s-1990s: From the Archives...
Here are a series of portraits of George Woodman, an avid world traveler. George soaked up endless inspiration for art making and life on the family's summer travels throughout the years.
L to R: All artworks by Francesca Woodman. 1 & 3: Installation view, MacDowell Colony, Peterborough, New Hampshire, 1980 / "Study for Tree Piece,” New York, c. 1980. 14 1/2 x 15 1/4 in. Diazotype / 4-5: “Untitled,” MacDowell Colony, Peterborough, New Hampshire, 1980. 2 13/16 x 9 15/16 in. Gelatin silver print. Letter on reverse of print / “Untitled,” MacDowell Colony, Peterborough, New Hampshire, 1980. 11 x 14 in. Gelatin silver print.
Francesca Woodman. Installation view, MacDowell Colony, Peterborough, New Hampshire, 1980.
Francesca Woodman, MacDowell Colony, Peterborough, New Hampshire, 1980: From the Archives...
Francesca Woodman spent three weeks in July of 1980 on a fellowship at the MacDowell Colony, surrounded by other artists, as well as musicians, poets, novelists and the forests of rural New Hampshire. She arrived there from New York, already thinking about trees.