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George Woods A COLLECTION OF WORKS FROM THE ESTATE OF THE ARTIST

AT WEBB’S A2 ART AUCTION TUESDAY 29 MAY

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George Woods

Because of the relatively short and small-scale nature of New Zealand’s art history, I tend to liken it to a not-quite-finished, but nearly complete, 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle. George Woods is, without doubt, an artist who, like many both before and after him, has not yet been given his rightful place in that history.

Born near the turn of the 20th century, George Woods received a solid art education at Wellington Technical College from Harry Linley Richardson (1878– 1947) and Frederick Vincent Ellis (1892 – 1961) and possibly the newly arrived Christopher Perkins (1891 – 1968), whose influence on our art history during the short time he was here (three to four years) was sizeable. Although George Woods achieved a reasonable degree of recognition during his rather unorthodox life, he is a largely forgotten figure here in the early years of the 21st century. This body of works released by the family will go a long way to re-establishing his reputation as an important, rare and unique New Zealand-born artist.

It is for his graphic works that George Woods is best known. Closely related to woodcuts (the woodcut medium was practised by contemporaries such as E. Mervyn Taylor (1906 – 1964) – with whom Woods once shared a studio), the chronographic linocuts that he produced are amongst the finest in Australasia and, in fact, the world. In contrast to the woodcut – an image-making process that was influenced by the direction of the wood grain and required hard force – the linocut presented Woods with a buttery-smooth substrate that could be shaped with only minimal pressure from the wrist. In such a way, the artist was able craft images that balanced fine and exacting detail with sterling use of unbroken colour.

The formative influence that European modernism had on New Zealand’s community of artists and craftspeople that burgeoned in the middle of the 20th century has been widely discussed and, with the work of George Woods, echoes of Matisse are clearly apparent in his constant flirtations with exoticism and eroticism. A deeply fauvist understanding runs through his economical use of line and his bold, poetic use of form carries a graphic immediacy. Further, by choosing to use iconography such as flourishing foliage and fertile female forms, Woods sought to reference art-historical idioms that were commonly understood by a wide audience. Importantly, both in his use of medium and in the themes of wider practice, Wood’s aims were democratic and utilitarian and he was as much a craftsman as he was an ‘artist’.

His life’s work more than favourably stands strong and proud when measured against other modernist New Zealand contemporary artists like Russell Clark (1905 – 1966) and the aforementioned E. Mervyn Taylor from that middle period of our art history. That the family of the artist is releasing these works onto the market will give public institutions and private collectors a rare opportunity to acquire very fine examples of some of the artist’s most intimate works. With the release of these 38 works into the market place, I believe another significant piece of our art-historical jigsaw puzzle will have fallen into place.John Perry

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A collection of works from the estate of the artist

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1. George Woods Decorative Design / linocut 170mm x 143mm / $600 - $800

2. George Woods Woman In Profile mezzotint / 200mm x 163mm / $600 - $800

3. George Woods Girl and Fawn / linocut 200mm x 185mm / $800 - $1,000

4. George Woods The Rubáiyát Of Omar Khayyám / linocut (set of four) / 250mm x 90mm / Note: The Rubáiyát Of Omar Khayyám is the title that Edward FitzGerald gave to his translation of a selection of poems, originally written in Persian and of which there are about a thousand, attributed to Omar Khayyám (1048 -1131), a Persian poet, mathematician and astronomer. / $2,500 - $3,500

5. George Woods Decorative Design linocut / 180mm x 137mm / $700 - $900

6. George Woods Marine Pattern I / linocut 206mm x 174mm / $800 - $1,000

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9. George Woods The Rubáiyát Of Omar Khayyám linocut / 245mm x 190mm $800 - $1,000

10. George Woods Joan Asleep / mezzotint 210mm x 198mm / $400 - $600

11. George Woods Woman in Profile / linocut title inscribed and signed / 175mm x 150mm $400 - $600

12. George Woods Moorish Idol / linocut title inscribed and signed / 190mm x 145mm $700 - $900

7. George Woods Leda and The Swan linocut / signed and inscribed Leda / 180mm x 140mm / $800 - $1,000

8. George Woods Study Of Two Figures linocut / 245mm x 200mm / $1,000 - $1,500

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13. George Woods A Study of a Seated Boy Wearing a Hat / watercolour and pencil on paper / signed / 296mm x 228mm $500 - $700

14. George Woods A Study of Trees and Fence Line / watercolour / 410mm x 410mm $1,500 - $2,500

15. George Woods A Study of a Sleeping Boy pencil on paper / 320mm x 275mm $500 - $700

16. George Woods A Study of a Seated Woman / watercolour / signed / 213mm x 274mm $600 - $800

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18. George Woods A Study Of Two Figures linocut / 197mm x 180mm / $800 - $1,000

20. George Woods Polynesian Mask / linocut / title inscribed and signed / 135mm x 105mm $500 - $700

17. George Woods Marine Pattern II / linocut title inscribed and signed / 205mm x 75mm $1,000 - $1,500

19. George Woods Toy Fish / linocut / title inscribed, signed and inscribed ed/28 205mm x 60mm / $700 - $900

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21. George Woods A Study of a Girl Seated In a Chair / watercolour and pencil on paper 348mm x 254mm / $700 - $900

22. George Woods A Study of a Woman Seated in an Interior / watercolour / 395mm x 300mm / $900 - $1,100

23. George Woods A Study of a Young Girl In Bathing Costume / watercolour and pencil on paper / 361mm x 239mm / $700 - $900

24. George Woods A Study of a Model Dressing / siberian charcoal on paper / signed; title inscribed, signed and Suter Gallery label affixed verso / 565mm x 390mm / $500 - $800

25. George Woods Young Girl, Joan charcoal and pencil on paper / 500mm x 340mm / $500 - $700

26. George Woods A Study of a Girl Seated watercolour / 300mm x 232mm / $700 - $900

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27. George Woods A Study of a Girl In Hat watercolour / 277mm x 212mm / $700 - $900

28. George Woods A Study of an Asian Girl charcoal on paper / 300mm x 222mm $700 - $900

29. George Woods A Study of a Girl Kneeling In The Grass / watercolour / 212mm x 273mm $700 - $900

32. George Woods A Study of a Girl In a Checked Dress watercolour / 213mm x 274mm / $600 - $900

31. George Woods At Helen Crabs’ Art Class pencil and charcoal on paper / 288mm x 356mm / $500 - $700

30. George Woods Seated Nude Study etching / 175mm x 185mm / $400 - $600

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33. George Woods Young Girl Seated II watercolour / 470mm x 355mm / $500 - $700

34. George Woods A Seated Figure in Coat and Hat / ink on paper / 295mm x 211mm $500 - $700

35. George Woods A Sudy of a Man With Pipe / charcoal on paper / 345mm x 265mm $600 - $800

36. George Woods A Study of a Young Girl In A Chair / charcoal on paper / signed; title inscribed in another hand and Tinakori Gallery label affixed verso / 530mm x 390mm $700 - $900

37. George Woods A Study of a Seated Girl charcoal on paper / 400mm x 255mm $600 - $800

38. George Woods A Study of Three Nude Figures / linocut / 50mm x 60mm / $700 - $900

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