Sunset on Mt. Hood by Robert W. Wood

(1889-1979) Oil on canvas; 16" x 20". Wood's father, a successful painter, recognized Robert's talent at an early age, and enrolled Wood in art school at the age of 12. At age 19, he immigrated to America, settled in Illinois, and worked as a hired hand. He then struck out on his own, living the life of an itinerate painter. Wood traveled as a hobo, hopping trains and selling or bartering small paintings for support along the way. In this manner, he saw most of the US, and fell in love with rural America. Although aware of the current movement away from traditional realism in American art, he elected to travel that solitary path and remain true to his own vision of America's grandeur, and translated this through his landscape and seascape paintings. In 1923, Wood's family moved to San Antonio, TX, and he studied at Art School with Spanish colorist Jose Arpey Perea. Ln the latter part of the 1920‘s, Jose's influence quickly became evident. Wood concentrated on the distinctive Texas landscape, with its red oak trees and wildflowers, especially the Blue bonnets that covered the hill country. After 17 years in Texas, in 1941, Wood moved to the coastal town of Laguna Beach, CA. Laguna had been an artist colony since early in the century, and it was the birthplace for California Plain-Air School, which was still active. While in Laguna, he developed a following for both his landscapes and marine paintings. After the war, in 1948, the Woods moved east, where he purchased a studio hidden deep in the Woodstock forest of the Catskill Mountains. During this period, he made sketching trips to New Hampshire, Vermont, and along the Maine coast, where he found inspiration from the bold autumn colors of the forest, the Catskill mountains covered in pillows of snow, and the blossoming fruit trees of spring. During the 1950’s, a combination of the popularity of his paintings and print royalties made him a comfortable living. It was during this period that the Grand Tetons became a favorite subject. Ln the 1960‘s, Robert Wood found great success in his art.