Virginia Hargraves Wood (married name: Virginia Hargraves Wood Goddard; c. 1872 – February 24, 1941) was an American painter, printmaker, illustrator, and teacher.[1] She is best known for her painted portraits of women and children, and numerous book illustrations.[1][2][3] Wood was one of the founder members of the Virginia Fine Arts Society in Alexandria.[1]
Virginia Hargraves Wood | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1872 – c. 1873 Missouri, United States |
| Died | February 24, 1941 (aged 68–69) near Ivy in Ablemarle County, Virginia, United States |
| Burial place | Saint Paul's Cemetery, Ivy, Virginia, United States |
| Other names | Virginia Hargraves Wood Goddard, Virginia Wood |
| Education | Chase School of Art |
| Occupation(s) | Visual artist, illustrator, printmaker, teacher |
| Known for | Paintings, drawings, portraits, engravings, book illustrations |
| Movement | Peconic Bay Impressionism |
| Spouse | Charles Franc Goddard (m. 1930–1941; death) |
| Relatives | Waddy Butler Wood (brother) |
Early life and family
editVirginia Hargraves Wood was born c. 1872 in Missouri, United States, to parents Clara Forsyth Hargraves and lawyer-turned-Confederate States Army Cpt. Charles E. Wood.[4][5] She had eight siblings, including noted architect Waddy Butler Wood.[6]
In 1930, she married lawyer Charles F. Goddard (1862–1954) in New York City.[7][8] After marriage she primarily used her maiden name for her art career.[9] However her niece (and Waddy's daughter) was also named Virginia Hargraves Wood at birth (her married name was Virginia Wood Riggs; 1906–?), also worked as a painter, and worked for the Works Progress Administration (WPA) post office mural project in Pennsylvania.[10]
Career
editWood attended classes in New York City, and Paris;[9] and studied under artists John Singer Sargent,[11] Charles Webster Hawthorne, Frank DuMond, and William Merritt Chase at the Chase School of Art (now Parsons School of Design).[12]
While studying in Paris, she visited a friend in London and became in-demand for her portrait work.[11] Sitters for her portraits included Lady Anglesey, various works for the Seth Barton French family, and portraits of the four daughters of George Jay Gould.[11] Wood also painted a noted portrait of Gertrude Stein in her older age.[13]
She maintained an art studio in New York City.[14] Wood also worked at Hawthorne's Cape Cod School of Art in Provincetown;[15] and was a frequent guest at the Caroline M. Bell studio school in Mattituck in Long Island, New York.[16] She was a member of the American Federation of Arts (AFA).[1]
Death and legacy
editIn her later life she moved to Mattituck.[7] She died after an extended illness on February 24, 1941, while staying at her sister-in-laws house (and her childhood home) at Spring Hill in Ablemarle County near Ivy, Virginia.[9]
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Wood, Virginia Hargraves". Benezit Dictionary of Artists. Oxford University Press. 2011. doi:10.1093/benz/9780199773787.article.b00198815. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
- ^ Faber, Harold (March 7, 1963). "Books of The Times; Rare View of Presidents The Feminine Approach". The New York Times. p. 7. ISSN 0362-4331 – via The Times Machine.
- ^ Arts & Decoration. Vol. 21. Adam Bunge. 1924. p. 18 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Entry for Charles Wood and Clara F. Wood, 1880: Virginia Wood, United States Census, 1880". FamilySearch.org. 1880.
- ^ "Confederate (CSA) Captain Charles Wood (1836–1930)". Antietam. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
- ^ Lewises, Meriwethers and Their Kin. Genealogical Publishing Com. 1984. p. 331. ISBN 978-0-8063-1072-5.
- ^ a b "Charles F. Goddard". The New York Times. April 9, 1954. p. 23. ISSN 0362-4331 – via The Times Machine.
- ^ The Wood-Woods Family Magazine. Virginia Wood Alexander. 1997. p. 53 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b c "Mrs. C. F. Goddard". The Richmond News Leader. 1941-02-25. p. 20. Retrieved 2024-03-19 – via Newspaper.com.
- ^ Park, Marlene; Markowitz, Gerald E. (1984). Democratic Vistas: Post Offices and Public Art in the New Deal. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press. p. 226. ISBN 978-0-87722-348-1 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b c "Plenty of Room at Top of Ladder For Woman Who Seriously Studies Art, Says Miss Wood". The Atlanta Constitution. 1913-03-09. p. 3. Retrieved 2024-03-19 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ American Art Annual. MacMillan Company. 1928. p. 744 – via Google Books.
- ^ The Long Island Historical Journal. Department of History, State University of New York at Stony Brook. 2006. p. 202.
- ^ "Artists Thrive on Appreciation and Success in Rolling Hills of Ablemarle County". Richmond Times-Dispatch. 1941-06-15. p. 52. Retrieved 2024-03-19 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Holme, Charles; Eglinton, Guy; Boswell, Peyton; Whigham, Henry James (1904). The International Studio. New York Offices of the International Studio. pp. PR5.
- ^ Wamback, Norman; Walden, Jeffrey M.; Matovcik, Gerard M. (2013). Mattituck and Laurel. Arcadia Publishing. p. 17. ISBN 978-0-7385-9915-1.