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WILLIAM WOODWARD (1859-1939)

William Woodward [self portrait]

“Painted the town (Ocean Springs) in 1891”

(published June 16, 1994 in The Ocean Springs Record; revised July 19, 2004)

William Woodward (1859-1939) was a native of Seekonk, Massachusetts having been born there on May 1, 1859. He was a multitalented man and was known in the art and academic world as an art teacher, painter, etcher, preservationist, potter, and architect. Woodward has been called the “Father of Art in New Orleans”.(The Daily Herald, November 17, 1939, p. 1)

After attending the 1876 Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia, William Woodward became interested in art. He studied at the Rhode Island School of Design (1877-1883), the Massachusetts Normal Art School (1883-1886), and by correspondence with the Academie Julian of Paris (1885-1886).

New Orleans

In 1884, William Woodward moved to New Orleans. Here he taught art as an associate professor at the new Tulane College and High School. Professor Woodward retired as “professor emeritus of the Newcomb College of Art” in 1921. He relocated to Biloxi, Mississippi in 1924, after a laudable career in the Crescent City. In June 1886, William Woodward had married Louise Amelia Giesen (1862-1937), a native of Kenner, Louisiana. They were the parents of: Alma Louise Woodward (1887-1939+) married William Bainbridge Logan; Eleanor Woodward (1889-1939+) married Clarence Blosser and George C. Moseley; William Giesen Woodward (1892-1939+); and Carl Ellsworth Woodward (1894-1972) married Mollie Holland (1894-1967). The Woodwards celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary at their Biloxi home in Oak Park.(The Daily Herald, July 10, 1936, p. 7)

Among his many accomplishments, William Woodward helped organize the Newcomb College; founded the New Orleans Art Pottery where he hired Joseph Fortune Meyer (1848-1931) and George E. Ohr Jr. (1857-1918); assisted in the design of the early building on the Tulane University campus; protested the destruction of the Cabildo; founded the Tulane School of Architecture; and was associated with the Vieux carre Commission’s efforts to preserve the areas historical architecture.

Ocean Springs

William Woodward and his spouse, Louise Amelia Giesen (1862-1937), a native of Kenner, Louisiana, spent the summer of 1891 at Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Here they drew and painted the local scenery. After completing their artistic endeavors under the oaks of this quaint village on the Bay of Biloxi, a large exhibit titled, “Views of Ocean Springs”, was presented by the artists at the Knights of Pythias Hall on Washington Avenue. The Pascagoula Democrat-Star of October 10, 1891, related, “these works of art cover the four walls of the building.”(The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, October 10, 1891, p. 3)

The Knights of Pythias Hall was situated on the west side of Washington Avenue approximately where the law office of Hayden S. Dent, Esquire now rests at 623 Washington Avenue. The two-story, wood-framed structure had an area of 3600 square-feet (30 feet by 60 feet). The Ocean Springs Signal and The Ocean Springs Leader, two local journals published in 1892-1893 by C.W. Crozier and F.L. Drinkwater, occupied the first floor while the Pythians met upstairs.(Sanborn Map-1893 and Ellison, 1991, p. 26)

Washington Avenue-Ocean Springs, Mississippi

[view south from Desoto Avenue in 1891]

The art

Of the original 1891 Woodward Exhibit at Ocean Springs, only two pieces are known to exist here today. One is a small watercolor, which I facetiously call “Three Little Pigs on Washington Avenue” hangs permanently at the Walter Anderson Museum of Art (WAMA) in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. It was a gift from Dr. Ronald J. French, of New Orleans. The other Woodward work is probably a charcoal sketch on watercolor paper titled, “Southern Moonlight-Ocean Springs”. It is in a local private collection with a pastel, figure study done at his Biloxi studio.

Benachi Avenue

In 1921, William Woodward fell from a scaffold while painting a mural in the United Fruit Company building at New Orleans. He damaged his spine confining him to a wheelchair for the remainder of his natural life. After an automobile tour of New England in 1923, the Woodwards retired to Biloxi. They settled initially at 123 Benachi Avenue building a studio home.

The lot in Biloxi on Benachi Avenue was acquired in May 1922, by Mrs. Louise G. Woodward from M.E. Dalton. The consideration was $850. Situated on the east side of Benachi Avenue, the Woodward lot had fifty-feet on the street and was one hundred thirty-six feet deep.(Harrison County, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 134, p. 289)

Oak Park

In April 1927, William Woodward bought Lot 50 in the Oak Park Subdivision. He acquired Lot 51 in October 1931. The cost of this real estate was $2500. Here in December 1927, the Woodwards contracted with Manuel & Wetzel for $6000 to construct a one and one-half story, English, style cottage, studio, and gallery. This edifice was located on Kensington Drive near the Back Bay of Biloxi and present day Keesler AFB. The Woodward cottage was built of California redwood, which had been milled at Wiggins, Mississippi. It was roofed with Creo-dipped shingles.(Harrison County, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 175, p. 54, Bk. 192, p. 464 and The Daily Herald, December 1, 1927, p. 2 and February 15, 1928, p. 2.

Accomplishments

Despite his physical handicap, William Woodward was active in the arts during his retirement years on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. When it became difficult for him to paint, he reverted to dry point etching and invented “fiberloid”, a simplified etching process. In 1927, William Woodward organized and presided over the Gulf Coast Art Association.

In September 1930, Professor Woodward was named to 'Who's Who in America'. He was the first Mississipp artist to be honored and the second Biloxi resident. Dr. Sharp, former president of Tulane University, had been named earlier.(The Daily Herald, September 24, 1930, p. 2)

In December 1934, William Woodward had an exhibit in the Newcomb Art School gallery at New Orleans. Among his fifty dry point etchings were nine images representing Mississippi Gulf Coast venues: Solari's Fish Wharf; Our Studio-Biloxi; Balloon Jib Finish-Biloxi; Schooner Racing at Beacon; Spearing Flounder Party; The Ice Man-Biloxi; Joe Meyer and George Ohr Potters; Solari's Oyster Wharf; and Sicilian Lugger Camp-Biloxi 1890.(The Daily Herald, January 2, 1935, p. 5)

In 1937, William Woodward presented a large painting of the now renown Newcomb potters of Biloxi origins, Joseph Fortune Meyer (1848-1931) and George E. Ohr Jr. (1857-1918), to the Biloxi Public Library. Today, this magnificent treasure is on loan to the Ohr-O’Keefe Museum located at 136 George E. Ohr Boulevard in Biloxi.

In 1938, Mr. Woodward published French Quarter Etchings to promote preservation efforts in the Vieux Carre section of the Crescent City. These prints based on his earlier Rafaeli oil crayon French Quarter paintings were accomplished at his Biloxi studio.

Demise

Following a brief illness, at Biloxi where he was confined to the Biloxi Hospital for four days and cared for by his son and grandson, Carl E. Woodward and Woodward B. Logan, William Woodward was brought on November 9, 1937 to the Southern Baptist Hospital at New Orleans. He died here on November 17, 1939. Mr. Woodward was survived by his four children: William Giesen Woodward of Syracuse, New York; Carl Elsworth Woodward of New Orleans; Alma Woodward Logan of New Orleans; and Eleanor Woodward Moseley of Atlanta. Mrs. Woodward preceded her husband in death having passed on October 29, 1937. Their corporal remains were interred at the Southern Memorial Park cemetery in Biloxi.(The Daily Herald, November 6, 1939, p. 8, November 17, 1939, p. 1, October 31, 1937, and November 1, 1937, p. 8,

The artworks of William Woodward are prized by today’s collectors. Amazingly at the time of his demise, his pictures, pottery, prints, etchings, portraits, and additional personal property was valued at only $2000. The total value of his estate was $7746 of which his Biloxi real estate comprised about 40%.( Harrison County, Mississippi Chancery Court Cause No. 16,850, December 1939)

Portrait of George E. Ohr Jr.

[original in the Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art at Biloxi, Mississippi

REFERENCES:

Books

Regina Hines Ellison, “Ocean Springs, 1892, 2^nd Edition, (Lewis Printing Services: Pascagoula, Mississippi-1991).

Early Views of the Vieux Carre-Guide Book to the French Quarter, (Isaac Delgado Museum: New Orleans, Louisiana-1965).

History of Art in Mississippi, (Dixie Press: Gulfport, Mississippi-1929).

Mississippi Gulf Coast Yesterday and Today (1699-1939), Federal Writers Project in Mississippi Works Progress Administration, (Gulfport, Mississippi-1939).

The Buildings of Biloxi: An Architectural Survey, (City of Biloxi: Biloxi, Mississippi-1976).

Collections

Historic New Orleans Collection-“William Woodward”.

Chancery Court

Harrison County, Mississippi Chancery Court Cause No. 16,850, “The Estate of William Woodward”, December 1939.

Journals

The Daily Herald, “Picture of Biloxian [George E. Ohr and Joseph Fortune Meyer] in collection at Delgado Museum in New Orleans”, March 26, 1912.

The Daily Herald, “Professor Woodward Again Home”, April 21, 1927.

The Daily Herald, “Artist Commences Oak Park Structure”, December 1, 1927.

The Daily Herald, “Woodward Home”, February 15, 1928.

The Daily Herald, “Woodward in Who's Who”, September 24, 1930.

The Daily Herald, “Prof. Woodward Resigns”, January 10, 1933.

The Daily Herald, “ ”, September 26, 1933.

The Daily Herald, “Woodward completes 50 years at Newcomb”, January 2, 1935.

The Daily Herald, Professor Woodward Presents Portraits of Deans of Tulane”, June 10, 1935.

The Daily Herald, “Celebrate 50th wedding anniversary”, July 10, 1936.

The Daily Herald, “Mrs. William Woodward Dies at Oak Park”, October 31, 1937.

The Daily Herald, “Mrs. Woodward Buried”, November 1, 1937.

The Daily Herald, “Oath taken by Mrs. Woodward", December 30, 1938.

The Daily Herald, “Prof. Woodward Ill”, November 6, 1939.

The Daily Herald, “Prof. Woodward Dies in Orleans”, November 17, 1939.

The Daily Herald, “Dr. Woodward Buried in Memorial Park”, November 18, 1939.

The Daily Herald, “Know Your Coast”- ‘The Almost Forgotten Woodward Studio’, September 26, 1956.

The Mississippi Press, “Portraits hold memories of loving friendship”, August 28, 1994, p. 7-B.

The Ocean Springs Record, “Half Century Ago”, July 24, 1969.

The Ocean Springs Record, “William Woodward painted the town in 1891”, June 16, 1994.

The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, “Ocean Springs Locals”, October 10, 1891.

The Times Picayune, “Old Vieux Carre Presented in Whitney Bank Art Exhibit”, September 29, 1979.

Maps

Sanborn Map Company (NY), “Ocean Springs, Mississippi”, Sheet 1-1893.

Personal Communication:

Dr. Ronald J. French, New Orleans, Louisiana, May 1993.

Dr. James W. Nelson, Gonzales, Louisiana, May 1993.

Murella Powell, Biloxi, Mississippi, February 1994.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

“COASTING”-The Retirement Years of William and Louise G. Woodward at

Biloxi, Mississippi: 1923-1939

by Ray L. Bellande

William Woodward painting of a Biloxi house

19th Century sojourns

The Mississippi Gulf Coast had seduced William Woodward (1859-1939) and Louise Amelia Giesen (1862-1937), his spouse, as an artistic and holiday destination as early as 1891. They spent the summer of 1891 at Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Here the Woodwards drew and painted the local scenery. A native son of Seekonk, Massachusetts, William was enraptured by the warmth and tropical beauty of the landscape with its live oaks and brilliant blooms of azalea, by the Gulf with its colorful assortment of sailing, fishing, and shrimp boats, and the local sights, such as the Episcopal Church in Pass Christian to Popp’s Ferry, in Back Bay. Louise, on the other hand, focused on drawing precise botanical illustrations of the exotic sea life, both in watercolor and oil.

After completing their artistic endeavors under the oaks of this quaint village on the Bay of Biloxi, a large exhibit titled, “Views of Ocean Springs”, was presented by the artists at the Knights of Pythias Hall on Washington Avenue. The Pascagoula Democrat-Star of October 10, 1891, related, “these works of art cover the four walls of the building.”(The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, October 10, 1891, p. 3)

An attestation that the Woodwards were enamored with the Mississippi seashore as a respite from his academic duties occurred in early August 1892, when William Geisen Woodward (1892-1939+), their first son, was born at Waveland, Hancock County, Mississippi.(WWI Draft Registration Orleans Parish, Louisiana R 1684928, DB 13) Three more children were to follow, another son and two daughters; and it was said, that William henceforth preferred his wife to devote her talents to being a wife and mother, rather than an artist.

The Woodward family returned to Ocean Springs in the summer of 1895. They were guests of Benjamin F. Parkinson Jr. (1859-1930), a businessman from New Orleans, who maintained a summer home on Biloxi Bay in the Lovers Lane neighborhood. Mr. Parkinson raised award winning poultry at his Ocean Springs estate.(The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, August 23, 1895, p. 3)

Biloxi

It was at Biloxi, Harrison County, Mississippi that the William Woodward family would spend much of their vacation time, especially summers. Nouveau Biloxi or Biloxi was the French Colonial outpost from which New Orleans was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptise Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville (1680-1768), a Canadian soldier in the employ of France. Slowly in the 1840s, Biloxi began to develop as one of the ‘Six Sisters’, a designation for the small resort towns situated on the Mississippi Sound, referred to as the ‘Lake”, between Bay St. Louis and Pascagoula. As a summer spa serviced by steam packets operating from Milneburg on Lake Pontchartrain, Biloxi catered to the affluent, primarily from the Crescent City. Here waterfront hotels, inns, and ancillary services grew to accommodate the fortunate who could flee the intense heat and scourge of Yellow Fever, which was pervasive at New Orleans from summer into fall. The appellation ‘Queen City’ was given Biloxi in the late 19^th Century. (Sullivan, 1985, p. 17 and p. 41)

By 1900, Biloxi had become one of the leading seafood packing towns in America. Here water front canneries using indigenous and seasonal ‘Bohemian’ labor from Baltimore processed oysters, shrimp, fruits, and vegetables. The New Orleans, Mobile, & Chattanooga Railroad, the precursor to the L&N Railroad, had begun to serve the region in the fall of 1870. As the population grew, Biloxi attracted professionals and retirees from other areas and eventually a small art community developed here before 1920.

William and Louise G. Woodward retired to Biloxi in 1923 and were residents until their deaths in the late 1930s. During this time, they saw the rapid growth and development of the tourist industry on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Large masonry hotels replaced the smaller, pre-1920, wood-framed structures. At Biloxi, the Buena Vista Hotel, Tivoli Hotel, Edgewater Hotel, and Biloxi Hotel rose along the sylvan shores of the Mississippi Sound. There were also several golf links between Gulfport and Ocean Springs to accommodate those enamored with this rapidly developing sport.

Meyer and Ohr

In addition to his proficiency in drawing and painting, William Woodward had been trained in the American Arts and Crafts tradition first at the Rhode Island School of Design and then at the Boston Normal School, with ceramics as a personal favorite. Prior to his tenure at Newcomb College, Tulane University, William started a pottery enterprise connected with the Tulane Decorative Art League in New Orleans in 1885 following upon the success 1884 Cotton Centennial. Coincidentally, William Woodward found help for his fledgling pottery on Baronne Street, The New Orleans Art Pottery, from two local Biloxi boys: Joseph F. Meyer (1848-1931) and George E. Ohr (1857-1918) Joseph F. Meyer would later become the potter for the Newcomb Pottery and be associated with William Woodward at New Orleans for many years until he retired in 1927 to Biloxi with a heart condition and failing eye sight. A very large oil canvas of Ohr and Meyer throwing pots in New Orleans was completed by Professor Woodward in 1890. It was exhibited at the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 at Chicago and in 1912 at the Delgado Museum in New Orleans. The New Orleans Art Pottery Company painting was brought by the Woodwards to Biloxi and shown in public here at the inaugural show of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Art Association in February 1927. For many decades, this historic painting hung in the Biloxi Public Library before being loaned to the Ohr-O’Keefe Museum at Biloxi, Mississippi in the late 1990s.(The Daily Herald, March 12, 1912, p. 1, February 21, 1927, p. 2, January 4, 1928, p. 10.

In August 1921, Professor Woodward lauded Ohr and Meyer in a letter written to The Daily Herald, the local journal at Biloxi and Gulfport, Mississippi, as follows:

Biloxi, Mississippi

August 21, 1921

Editor Daily Herald,

My attention has been called to the letter published August 19, by Mr. Rose, concerning the late Geo. E. Ohr of Biloxi, whose ability as an art potter, he recommends very highly. It is a pleasure to add my testimony to his, and say that Mr. Ohr was employed by the N.O. Art Pottery Co., in which I had a leading interest, for quiet a period, associated with Mr. Joseph Meyer, also of Biloxi, who now live son Deer Island and who is now employed in the winter season in turning the beautiful shapes designed and created by the students of the Newcomb College for women, Tulane University of New Orleans.

Mr. Ohr produced when with us, the highest class of work in clay on the potter’s wheel and at times did his work before the public, in expositions. I wish to earnestly support the idea of having collections of his work in all schools and exchanges in Biloxi, properly labeled. Very likely other art work done in Biloxi could be added if carefully selected which would be instructive and creditable.

Yours very truly,

Wm. Woodward

Sr. professor of art, Tulane University

(The Daily Herald, August 25, 1921, p. 2)

Pre-retirement years

The Daily Herald relates that Professor Woodward and his family had several holidays at Biloxi before his retirement years began, delighting equally in the artistic and recreational opportunities, with a particular fondness for sailing. In January of 1921, William Woodward was operated on for a tumor in the sacral region of his spine at Touro Infirmary in New Orleans. The ensuing disability forced his resignation from Tulane University beginning the academic session 1921-22. Confined permanently to a wheelchair, his mobility was limited; but his artistic inspiration and production soared. He entered upon one of the most creative periods of his life. With great pessimism, his physician Dr. Parham despaired of William Woodward’s recovery, even after eighteen months of bed and wheelchair. Yet during this time of convalescence, in the summers of 1921 and 1922, William Woodward painted prolifically on the Coast. His thirty studies completed in 1921 were exhibited at the Newcomb Art School’s public gallery. He was more active in 1922, completing fifty canvasses in oil including subjects at night and also the popular Biloxi Regatta. The summer of 1922 was a family reunion for Mrs. Louise G. Woodward. During their seven weeks stay at Biloxi, Eleanor W. Blosser (1889-1939+), their daughter and spouse of Clarence Blosser (1874-1920+), an Atlanta, Georgia based patent medicine manufacturer, brought their five small children to Biloxi . Mrs. Blosser was a Newcomb Art School alumnus and the chairman of the exhibit committee for the Atlanta Art Association. She later married George C. Moseley (1881-1930+) in Atlanta (The Daily Herald, July 22, 1922, p. 3 and July 23, 1928, p.2) The late summer of 1922 was very special to Professor Woodward, as he donated a painting that was made from the lawn of the Biloxi City Hospital to the local infirmary. This image captured the shade-giving, live oak trees, the water front, and the Biloxi Yacht Club. With this gift, William Woodward was expressing his gratitude to the clinic and staff as well as his deep love for Biloxi and its people, which was mutual. (The Daily Herald, September 2, 1922, p. 3)

When interviewed about the Woodwards in 1991, Dolores Davidson Smith (1916-1997) of Ocean Springs related: “I can say that these people have enriched my life and memories. They were sweet and loving and when the children couldn’t come…the grandchildren couldn’t come I would go over and stay with them; and love them to pieces. They were so sweet and gentle.” (Transcript-Biloxi Public Library of an interview by Murella H. Powell on March 7, 1991)

Benachi Avenue

To facilitate his trips back and forth to New Orleans, William Woodward had ordered a specially-outfitted Dodge touring car with manual controls. It was such a success that it prompted an ambitious tour of New England, including a visit to his hometown of Seekonk, Massachusetts, in 1923. Afterwards, the Woodwards formally retired to Biloxi, Mississippi. They settled initially at 123 Benachi Avenue. The ‘Brady’ lot in Biloxi on Benachi Avenue previously was acquired in May 1922, by Mrs. Louise G. Woodward from M.E. Dalton (1857-1929), a prominent Chicago contractor who like the Woodwards had chosen to retire in the Queen City. The consideration was $850. This tract was situated on the east side of Benachi Avenue and had fifty-feet on the street and was one hundred thirty-six feet deep.(The Daily Herald, April 22, 1922, p. 3, February 15, 1929, p. 8 and Harrison County, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 134, p. 289)

They built a studio home that has been described architecturally as Swiss chalet, Mrs. Woodward assisted in the construction of their home working with red tile and cypress shingles. (Bragg and Saward, 2004. p. 183, Building of Biloxi, 1976, p. 127, and The Daily Herald, September 26, 1956) On account of the paralysis of his legs, the Benachi home had to be constructed at ground level in order that Mr. Woodward could navigate his wheelchair in and out of the premises unaided. When outside his home, William Woodward carried a lecture hall folding chair in his car with wheels attached to the legs. He utilized this light-weight chair as his means of locomotion on the streets of Biloxi.

Woodward Benachi home and studio at Biloxi, Mississippi

Benachi Avenue was Biloxi’s ‘Avenue of Oaks’. It was much photographed and the subject of William Woodward’s palette. It probably reminded William of the famous allee of live oaks in New Orleans’ Audubon Park, which he had seen everyday from his studio in Gibson Hall at Tulane. The Woodwards would live at the Benachi Avenue address until 1927.

Despite his growing involvement in the Biloxi artistic community, William Woodward finally was able to heed his wanderlust, which had been denied him most years at Tulane, teaching as he did the summer sessions. In 1926, they packed the touring car and set off on another working trip, this time to the Far West. For months he remained in the Yellowstone Valley painting; and finally arrived in San Francisco, the city which had beckoned members of his mother’s family, the Carpenters of Seekonk in the mid-nineteenth century. It had always been a source of romantic speculation to the young William, growing up in those closed New England winters. The paintings of this period are bolder and broader in handling, more impressionistic. Gone is the careful architectural rendering of William Woodward’s early painting. Much is experimental, too, realized in greater abstraction of form and broad areas of strong color. It seems to be a new exciting artistic language more suited to the boisterous spirit of the West, than to the careful vocabulary of the Eastern arts and crafts tradition. Perhaps, some of the most daring compositions result from the Woodward’s sea-voyage to Hawaii, where he painted for weeks before returning to Southern California and eventually back to Benachi Avenue.

Upon the demise of Louise G. Woodward in 1937, the Benachi cottage was legated to Woodward Bainbridge Logan (1910-1995) and William Ellsworth Logan (1915-1930+), her grandsons. They sold it for $1100 in June 1939 to Vivien Stansbury. Louise G. Woodward left all of her “vases, pottery, and pictures to be distributed among my grandchildren in whatever manner by Eleanor Woodward Mosley (sic).”(Harrison County, Ms. Chancery Court Cause No. 15,602-1937 and Harrison County, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 227, p. 239)

The Mississippi Gulf Coast Art Association

William Woodward was the founder of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Art Association during his retirement years at Biloxi. In mid-November 1926, he and interested parties met at the Biloxi Public Library and commenced this cultural body, which aspired to influence the future aesthetics of the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Among the charter members of the organization were: Mary Ethel Dismukes (1870-1952) and Louise Mallard (1900-1975) of Biloxi; Miss Sarah K. Smith (1878-1930+) of Gulf Park College; Dean Parkhurst Woleben (1891-1968) of Gulfport; and Emma Langdon Roche, Edward C. de Celle, and Roderick Dempster MacKenzie (1865-1941) of Mobile.(The Daily Herald, November 19, 1926, p. 2)

As there were several ‘snow birds’ in the Gulf Coast Art Association, its annual schedule was characterized by several monthly meetings in the spring, fall and winter, usually at the Biloxi Public Library on Lameuse Street. Occasionally, the group would convene at a member’s residence or at the art studio on the campus of Gulf Park College in Long Beach, Mississippi.

A guest lecturer, either invited or drawn from within the membership, would speak on a particular art related topic. William Woodward with his years of instruction at Newcomb College and Tulane University was often the speaker. There were generally two public art exhibitions each year at Biloxi: a juried show that was held near Mardi Gras and a non-juried show in December. The summer months were idle. After a juried show ended, it would be relocated to another Gulf Coast City for another public viewing. Often the home town of the artist whose work was chosen ‘best Coast scene’ would become the selected venue. In addition to Biloxi, the Gulf Coast Art Association is known to have art exhibits at: Gulf Park College, Long Beach, Mississippi; Gulfport, Mississippi, and Mobile, Alabama.

The Mississippi Gulf Coast Art Association held its first annual exhibit at the Biloxi Public Library from February 4^th until February 20^th, 1927, Miss Ethel Dismukes (1870-1952), then secretary of the organization, exhibited photography and oil paintings. Her “The Burden Bearer” was voted “the best-liked picture”. William Woodward won the gold medal for “Our Street”.(The Daily Herald, February 3, 1927, p. 2 and February 21, 1927, p. 2)

The Art Center

In early December 1932, artists of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Art Association decided to commence an “Art Center” in Biloxi. It was located on the north side of West Howard Avenue between Reynoir and Fayard Streets, adjacent to D’Aquin’s Drugstore. The “Art Center” may have been the first artist public meeting place and artist co-op on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. In addition to rotating art exhibits and association meetings, the Gulf Coast Art Association planned to have a workroom in their building, with north light, which is considered excellent for drawing and painting. Classes and workshops were also planned for the workroom. The “Art Center” opened in late December 1932. Professor Woodward, William ‘Billy’ Logan, his grandson, and Charlotte E. Tibbs of Biloxi worked diligently to bring this project to fruition.(The Daily Herald, December 6, 1932, p. 2, December 29, 1932, p. 2, and January 10, 1933, p. 6)

William Woodward resigned from his very active role as president of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Art Association in January 1933. He had led the organization since its inception. Anne Wells Munger (1862-1945), a native of Springfield, Massachusetts and resident of Pass Christian, Mississippi, became acting president. Mrs. Munger wintered at Pass Christian and enjoyed painting during the cooler summers on Cape Cod in Massachusetts.(The Daily Herald, February 14, 1927, p. 2 and January 10, 1933, p. 6)

Oak Park

In April 1927, William Woodward bought Lot 50 in the Oak Park Subdivision at Biloxi, Mississippi. He acquired Lot 51 in October 1931. The cost of this real estate was $2500. Here in December 1927, the Woodwards contracted with Manuel & Wetzel for $6000 to construct a one and one-half story, English, style cottage, studio, and gallery. This Woodward edifice was referred to as ‘The Studio’ and was located on Kensington Drive near the Back Bay of Biloxi and the Naval Reserve Park, which was later integrated into present day Keesler Air Force Base. The Woodward cottage was built of California redwood, which had been milled at Wiggins, Mississippi. It was roofed with Creo-dipped shingles.(Harrison County, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 175, p. 54, and Bk. 192, p. 464 and The Daily Herald, December 1, 1927, p. 2 and February 15, 1928, p. 2.

In February 1943, several years after William and Louise G. Woodward had passed died, their Oak Park cottage was taken from their heirs by imminent domain. The U.S. Army Air Corps had commenced the construction of Keesler Field in this area of Biloxi in 1941, and the Woodward property was near the north end of the airstrip. The Woodward home served for some time as the residence of the Base commanding officer. Although it was metamorphosed with additions, its basic architectural style remained intact.(Harrison County, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 253, p. 327 and Down South, Nov.-Dec. 1953, p. 38)

Biloxi and other Exhibits

While a resident of Biloxi, Professor Woodward participated annually in the Gulf Coast Art Association exhibition, usually held at the Biloxi Public Library. In December 1935, he was invited by the Newcomb Art School to show his work and to celebrate his thirty-five years of service to Tulane University.(The Daily Herald, January 2, 1935, p. 5)

Following is a listing of some of the paintings shown by William Woodward during his residence on the Mississippi Gulf Coast

1927-Gulf Coast Art Association

Professor Woodward and Miss Ethel Dismukes, president and secretary of the Gulf Coast Art Association, with yeoman efforts assembled and exhibition and sale for the active artists of the association at the Biloxi Public Library in early February 1937. The show was juried by Will H. Stevens of Newcomb College, Miss Sarah Smith of Gulf Park College, and Edmund C. DeCelle of Mobile. The Peoples Bank donated a gold medal award for the 'best oil painting'; the City Commissioners not to be trumped also provided a gold medal for the 'best Gulf Coast scene'; the 'honorable mention award' was a blue ribbon. Professor Woodward had a least two paintings in this initial exhibit of the MGCAA, ‘The New Orleans Art Pottery Company” and ‘Our Street’, which was awarded the gold medal for best Coast scene. Louise Giesen Woodward also participated in this art show.(The Daily Herald, February 3, 1927, p. 2, , February 3, 1927, p. 5, and February 21, 1927, p. 2)

In April 1927, the Woodwards ventured to Charleston, South Carolina to attend the Southern States Art League annual convention. While in the Low Country, Professor Woodward painted the renowned Azalea blossoms of Magnolia Plantation and Gardens and visited the Terrace Azalea Gardens. At Easter, they visited with Eleanor W. Blosser and grandchildren in Atlanta. At Mobile, the Woodwards visited the Gulf Coast Art Association show and returned it to Biloxi.(The Daily Herald, April 21, 1927, p. 2)

1928-Gulf Coast Art Association-

Mid-February 1928 was indeed a historic moment in the art history of Biloxi. There were two exhibits on simultaneously. Professor William Woodward had his own gallery showing while the MGCAA show was hanging in the Biloxi Public Library. The Woodward display consisted of about forty paintings, primarily of Biloxi. Some of his subjects were: Benachi Avenue at its Back Bay terminus; the Biloxi lighthouse; live oaks in front of the W.P. Kennedy domicile; shell roads in the vicinity of Solari’s fish house; and the elliptical shoreline of the Back Bay of Biloxi. An art critic from New York City so admired the color and composition of William Woodward’s ‘Spring time near Biloxi’, that he compared the Professor to Claude Monet (1840-1926). Mr. Woodward related that after he had moved beyond the Barbizon style that indeed Monet had been an inspiration.(The Daily Herald, February 16, 1928, p. 2)

Professor William Woodward opened the 1929 art association annual exhibition with a talk on art appreciation. He emphasized that art, excepting religion, is the most tangible element in our daily lives. Woodward lauded the Mississippi Gulf Coast Art Association for its inaugural efforts and selfless serving to promote cultural activities in this historic region. He emphasized that there were limitless, natural subjects to be captured on the canvas by local artists for as Professor Woodward stated, “art begins at home.” William Woodward was honored at this art show by capturing the Peoples Bank award for the best oil painting for his “Azaleas in Sunlight”.(The Daily Herald, February 18, 1928, p. 2)

1929-Gulf Coast Art Association-

In mid-February 1929, the Gulf Coast Art Association met in the Biloxi Library with Roderick Dempster MacKenzie (1865-1941) of Mobile acting as chairman of the juried show. Mr. MacKenzie was actively engaged in painting murals in the State Capitol building at Montgomery, Alabama. William Woodward received the gold medal, which had been donated by the Biloxi City Commissioners as a prize for the Gulf Coast Art Association’s juried selection of ‘best Gulf Coast scene’. ‘Luggers’ was the title of Woodward’s award winning oil painting. He had painted it in 1891, when he and the family had spent the summer at Ocean Springs. This was Professor Woodward’s second gold medal for ‘Best Gulf Coast scene’ in the GCAA annual exhibition series.(The Daily Herald, February 18, 1929, p. 2)

1930-Gulf Coast Art Association-

Gertrude Roberts Smith (1869-1962) of the Newcomb Art School and Charles W. Bein (1891-1966), president of the art school of the Arts and Crafts Club of New Orleans, were jurors for the 1930 MGCAA art show held on February 22^nd in the Biloxi Public Library. Professor William Woodward was given the First National Bank of Biloxi award, which was a $10 dollars gold piece, for the best portrait or figure study. He did a pastel portrait of Eleanor Blosser, his granddaughter. Other winners were: The Biloxi City Commissioners prize, also a $10 dollar gold piece, for the best Gulf Coast scene to Minor Sutter of Pass Christian for “A Glimpse of Bayou Portage”, a water color. The Peoples Bank of Biloxi awarded a $10 gold coin to three artists for their fine water colors: Sarah Katherine Smith, Charles E. Hultberg (1874-1948), and Professor Charles Woodward Hutson. Peter Anderson of the Shearwater Pottery won the arts and crafts division top honors for a grouping of glazed pots and Charles Hultberg garnered a gold medal for his large, oil landscape. The MGCAA provided the awards to Anderson and Hultberg.(The Daily Herald, February 5, 1930, p. 2 and February 27, 1930)

1931- Gulf Coast Art Association

The fifth annual Gulf Coast Art Association show was one of the largest and most exciting presented to the public by the young organization. The artists showing work at this juried affair held on February 12, 1931 at the Biloxi Public Library were: Professor William Woodward, Miss Ethel Dismukes, Miss Charlotte E. Tibbs, Deaconess Mary Truesdale, Charles E. Hultberg, Wilomene T. White, and Virginia Theobald of Biloxi; Sarah K. Smith of Gulf Park College; Miss Nannie Mayes Crump of Gulfport; Marie A. Hull of Jackson, Mississippi; Horace A. Russ of Lakeshore, Mississippi; Ethel S. Creighton, Amy Watkins, and Miss Emma Langdon Roche of Mobile, Alabama; Charles W. Hutson of New Orleans; Herman A. McNeil of New York; William C. Richards of Ocean Springs, Mississippi; and Anne Wells Munger and Minor Sutter of Pass Christian, Mississippi. Professor Ellsworth Woodward of Newcomb College and president of the Southern States Art League and Miss Ella Miriam Wood also a resident of the Crescent City were selected to serve as jurors and judges.(The Daily Herald, February 6, 1931, p. 2 and February 14, 1931, p. 2)

E. Ambrose Webster (1869-1935), art maven, of the Provincetown Art Colony of Cape Cod was the guest speaker at the exhibit opening. He was impressed with the local exhibit and particularly was enamored with the work of Charles W. Hutson (1840-1936) and William C. Richards (1914-2004). William Woodward presented a $10 dollar gold piece to the following winners: First Bank of Biloxi-Peoples Bank award to Miss Emma Langdon Roche for the best oil painting; Biloxi City Commissioners award to Horace A. Russ for the best Gulf Coast scene; Bay St. Louis Chamber of Commerce award to Marie A. Hull (1890-1980) for the best water color; Pass Christian Chamber of Commerce award to Miss Amy Watkins for the best figure or head; Gulf Coast Art Association prize to Ethel Dismukes for the best art craft; and the Mrs. Thornhill Broome award to Minor Sutter for the best pastel drawing.(The Daily Herald, February 12, 1931, p. 10)

Shearwater visit

In May, the Gulf Coast Art Association met at the Shearwater Pottery in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Annette McConnell Anderson (1867-1964) and Peter Anderson (1901-1984), her son and founder of the pottery, hosted the membership. The Andersons gave a tour of their facility commencing in the show room were the finished pieces are sold. The group broke for tea and sandwiches before completing the visit by viewing the recently enlarged work shops. Professor William Woodward was not present, but members from Bay St. Louis, Pass Christian, Mississippi City, and Biloxi were in attendance.(The Daily Herald, May 11, 1931, p. 2)

Junior Art Show

In early May, the Biloxi Public Library hosted an exhibition of works by the junior membership of the Gulf Coast Art Association. Media for the event included oils, water colors, sculpture, cut paper, and crayons, which were utilized to create portrait, still life, collage, and landscape images. Exhibiting were: Josephine Alphonso, Bernadette Arndt, Betty Buck, Peggy Cassibry, Mary C. Helms, Carin Holmes, Patti Lynn, K. Renshaw, and Katherine Webb.(The Daily Herald, May 7, 1931, p. 2 and May 15, 1931, p. 2)

1932- Gulf Coast Art Association

The Gulf Coast Art Association 1932 art show occurred in mid-February with Dean Babcock (1888-1969), a resident of Estes Park, Colorado who was wintering at Biloxi, and Henry M. Rosenberg (1858-1947) of New York and a winter guest at Citronelle, Alabama, serving as jurors. At the business meeting, William Woodward was re-elected president of the GCAA (The Daily Herald, February 15, 1932, p. 2)

Newcomb exhibit

In September 1932, William Woodward, president of the Gulf Coast Art Association, had an exhibit of his Vieux Carre oil paintings in the recently refurbished Newcomb College gallery. These turn of the Century works featured such French Quarter landmarks as: the Cabildo, St. Louis Cathedral; the old French Opera House; and the signature Jackson Square. Most of these works had been viewed by Gulf Coast art aficionados either at local exhibits or in Professor Woodward’s Oak Park studio.(The Daily Herald, September 20, 1932, p. 2)

‘New’ etchings process

The first fall meeting of 1932 was held in late November at the home of Deaconess Mary Truesdell at 138 Fayard Street in Biloxi. Professor William Woodward delivered an address titled, ‘New Etching Processes”. In recent months, he had been working diligently on an exhibit in this medium.(The Daily Herald, November 24, 1932, p. 2

[need to write about Woodward’s ‘dry point etching technique

The 1932 fall exhibition of the Gulf Coast Art Association was non-juried and was open to the public from December 11^th to December 18^th at the Biloxi Library. William Woodward presented an oil portrait and several etchings. The ‘Solari Memorial Plate’, an etching of the Philip L. Solari (1868-1932) oyster house, wharf and tree was very popular. For each Solari print sold, Professor Woodward donated one to a Biloxi school. Philip L. Solari, an Italian immigrant and Biloxi merchant, and his oak tree both expired in 1932. Ellsworth Woodward, his brother, made the Solari prints at New Orleans. ‘Deacon Reed’s House’, also an etching by William Woodward, was made from a sketch of this Massachusetts home, work shop, well and sweep.(The Daily Herald, September 26, 1932, p. 2 and December 12, 1932, p. 2)

1933- Gulf Coast Art Association

Anne Wells Munger of Pass Christian, Mississippi was elected president of the MGCAA at its annual meeting held in the Art Center on March 13, 1933. Professor Woodward whose motivation and leadership had guided the MGCAA since its inception in November 1926, was named president emeritus. William Woodward had resigned his leadership of the organization in early January 1933. Other elected officers were: Emma Langdon Roche, vice president; Mary Ethel Dismukes, secretary; and Deaconess Truesdell, treasurer.(The Daily Herald, January 10, 1933, p. 6 and March 14, 1933, p. 2)

The 1933 GCAA juried art show was held March 20-March 25 at the art studio on the Gulf Park College campus in Long Beach, Mississippi. William Woodward displayed the following works: ‘Autumn” and “Naval Reserve Park”-oils; “Captain Wooster’s Carpenter Place”, “Boats at Provincetown”, “Buck Sawyer”, and a “Coat of Arms”-etchings. (The Daily Herald, March 21, 1933, p. 1)

The 1933 GCAA art show was scheduled to be displayed in April at the Art Center on 512 West Howard Avenue in Biloxi. The Art Center officially closed its winter season in early May with a public tea. William Woodward, president emeritus, was present at this function. The Art Center remained closed for the summer months.(The Daily Herald, March 14, 1932, p. 2 and May 2, 1933, p. 2)

1934- Gulf Coast Art Association

The Gulf Coast Art Association opened its 1934 show on February 13^th in the Hord Building on West Howard Avenue. Members work was shown in the following mediums: oils, water colors, wood block prints, hand painted China; and other arts and crafts techniques. The show closed on February 20^th. It was marked by the strong pencil sketches of Anne Wells Mungers, the PWA commissions of Miss Charlotte E. Tibbs, and the flower studies of Miss Sarah K. Smith of Gulf Park College. (The Daily Herald, February 13, 1934, p. 3 and February 20, 1934, p. 6)

Gulf Park College

In March, the Gulf Coast Art Association decided to have a graphics arts show in the studio of Miss Sarah K. Smith to open April 16^th at Gulf Park College in Long Beach, Mississippi. William Woodward presented some of his etchings and was awarded an honorable mention for “Oyster Luggers’.(The Daily Herald, March 6, 1934, p. 2 and April 17, 1934, p. 8)

In December 1934, upon his fiftieth year of service to Tulane University, Professor Woodward was honored by the Newcomb Art School with an exhibit of his work in their gallery. The Woodward showing consisted of fifty dry point etchings. Nine of these images were of the Mississippi Gulf Coast: ‘Solari’s Fish Wharf’; ‘Our Studio-Biloxi’; Balloon Jib Finish-Biloxi’; Schooner Racing at Beacon’; ‘Spearing Flounders Party’; The Ice Man-Biloxi’; ‘Joe Meyer and George Ohr Potters’; ‘Solari’s Oyster Wharf’; and ‘Sicilain Lugger Camp atBiloxi-1890’. A couple who resided on Park Avenue in New York City bought a print of ‘Solari’s Fish Wharf’.(The Daily Herald, January 2, 1935, p. 5)

W.S. Robinson, a popular landscape painter from Old Lyme, Connecticut, and former classmate of William Woodward visited Biloxi during the winter of 1934-1935. Mr. Robinson and Professor Woodward met about fifty years past, when both were studying at the Massachusetts Normal Art School in Boston. Like Woodward, W.S. Robinson had an extensive career as an art instructor. After academic posts in New London, Philadelphia, Baltimore, the Teachers College of Columbia University, he ended his career in 1934 at the National Academy of Design in New York City. (The Daily Herald, January 4, 1935, p. 2)

1935-A year of sales and exhibitions

Professor Woodward sold five Vieux Carre etchings* in March to the Lauren Eastman Rogers Memorial Foundation Art Museum at Laurel, Mississippi. The Lauren Eastman Rogers Art Museum was founded in 1923 and the Woodward etchings were for its permanent collection. At this time, William Woodward also vended an original Vieux Carre study done in Raffelli oil crayons to a party from Cleveland, Ohio and an oil painting of an oyster wharf on the Back Bay at Biloxi to a patron in Boulder, Colorado. Both studies were 22 inches by 28 inches.(The Daily Herald, March 11, 1935, p. 8)

William Woodward’s fifty dry point etchings, which had been exhibited at the Newcomb Art School gallery in December 1934, were shown in March 1935, at the Massachusetts School of Art in Boston. The school’s alumni association sponsored this one man show. Professor Woodward was an 1886 graduate of this institution.(The Daily Herald, March 11, 1935, p. 8)

In early April, the GCAA held its annual juried show at the studio of Sarah K. Smith at Gulf Park College, Long Beach, Mississippi. There were ninety-five art objects from sixteen of the twenty-two art association members in the exhibition. Professor William Woodward displayed three large oils and several etchings. His subjects were two French Quarter scenes and Benachi Avenue.(The Daily Herald, April 9, 1935, p. 1)

In June 1935, William Woodward attended the Centennial Anniversary of Tulane University. He presented to the school portraits of eleven former deans and professors whom he had worked with in his long career at the school. Professor Woodward was the only living member of this august group.(The Daily Herald, June 10, 1935, p. 2)

*Jill Chancey, curator at the Lauren E. Rogers Art Museum at Laurel, Mississippi, relates that their accession records demonstrate that three Woodward etchings were purchased in 1935, not five as reported by the Biloxi newspaper.(telephone conversation July 9, 2008)

1936 Gulf Coast Art Association

The 1936 juried art show of the Gulf Coast Art Association was held in the sun parlor of the White House Hotel. The forty-nine-piece show opened on March 1, 1936 and was available for public viewing for about one week. Miss Ethel Dismukes exhibited three photographs: “Inn by the Sea” (oil tinted); “Lover’s Lane”; and “Wind Swept”. Professor William Woodward of Biloxi showed the following: “Portrait of Patricia” (oil); “Biloxi Light”, “Ship at Sunset”, and Ship in Moonlight” (Raffaelli oil crayons); and “Benachi Avenue Bioxi”, “Oyster Wharf”, “Yellow Fever Quarantine”, and “Pass Christian” (etchings). Dean Babcock of Denver, Colorado presented several wood engravings, while GCAA regulars: Anne Wells Munger, Sarah K. Smith, Charlotte E. Tibbs, and Nannie Mayes Crump had works in various media for public viewing.(The Daily Herald, March 2, 1936, p. 2)

The April meeting was held on April 14th at Gulf Park College and was a joint session with the Gulfport Women's Club.(The Daily Herald, April 4, 1936, p. 2)

1937 Gulf Coast Art Association

On March 8^th, the tenth anniversary convening of the Gulf Coast Art Association annual juried exhibition opened in the art studio of Miss Sarah K. Smith on the campus of Gulf Park College at Long Beach, Mississippi. There were twelve artists in this show. Professor Woodward had four etchings of Gulf Coast scenes in this 1937 art show. His Biloxi lighthouse created considerable interest as well as his other images which captured the Coast in the recent past. The GCAA art show moved from Gulf Park College to the Biloxi Library in mid-March.(The Daily Herald, March 8, 1937, p. 8 and March 10, 1937, p. 5 and March 16, 1937, p. 2)

1937 Mississippi Art Association

The Mississippi Art Association opened it 1937 annual exhibition at Jackson on December 15^th. Professor William Woodward won first prize for a scene painted on Lover’s Lane at Ocean Springs, Mississippi. It was a large canvas. Other Gulf Coast Art Association members exhibiting in Jackson were: Anne Wells Munger of Pass Christian; Mrs. J.C. McNair of Handsboro; and Miss Nannie Mayes Crump of Gulfport. William Woodward and Mrs. Munger had been members of the State art association for several years, while Miss Crump and Mrs. McNair were elected to join this select group in 1937.(The Daily Herald, December 25, 1937, p. 2)

1938 Gulf Coast Art Association

Once again, the Biloxi Library was the scene of the 1938 Gulf Coast Art Association art show. It commenced on March 22^nd. William Woodward showed his award winning Lover’s Lane painting and a group of etchings. There was also a memorial exhibit of the paintings of recently deceased Charles Woodward Hutson (1840-1936) of New Orleans.(The Daily Herald, March 22, 1938, p. 2)

1939 Gulf Coast Art Association

Professor Woodward’s last Gulf Coast Art association show occurred at the Biloxi Library in early March 1939. His oil painting, “Biloxi Harbor after the Races”, depicted the effects of a setting sun on the sails of the racing fleet. Charlotte E. Tibbs spoke to the group on ‘The Picture and The Frame’. The geographic range of the subject matter exhibited was from the Gulf Coast to as far north as Alaska with the works of Adolyn Gale Dismukes (1864-1953), the widowed, sister-in-law of Ethel Dismukes, to the coastal architecture of Cape Cod captured by Anne Wells Munger, and the water color landscapes of Michigan by Charlotte E. Tibbs. Shearwater Pottery had several excellent pieces in their characteristic blue and green glazes as well as the popular little figurines.(The Daily Herald, March 10, 1939, p. 2)

1940 Gulf Coast Art Association

The Spring show was held in early March at Gulf Park College with eight artists represented.There was also a Memorial Exhibit of the work of Professor Woodward. Among the artists exhibiting were: William Robison of Old Lyme, Connecticut;Jacque Tarmosky; Archibald Boggs of Long Beach; Miss Charlotte Tibbs; and Josephine Alfonso.(The Daily Herald, March 7, 1940, p. 7)

Demise

Following a brief illness, at Biloxi where he was confined to the Biloxi Hospital for four days and cared for by his son and grandson, Carl E. Woodward and Woodward B. Logan, William Woodward was brought on November 9, 1937 to the Southern Baptist Hospital at New Orleans. He died here on November 17, 1939. Mr. Woodward was survived by his four children: William Giesen Woodward of Syracuse, New York; Carl Elsworth Woodward of New Orleans; Alma Woodward Logan of New Orleans; and Eleanor Woodward Blosser Moseley of Atlanta, Georgia Mrs. Woodward preceded her husband in death having passed on October 29, 1937. Their corporal remains were interred at the Southern Memorial Park cemetery in Biloxi.(The Daily Herald, November 6, 1939, p. 8, November 17, 1939, p. 1, October 31, 1937, and November 1, 1937, p. 8,

The artworks of William Woodward are prized by today’s collectors. Amazingly at the time of his death, his pictures, pottery, prints, etchings, portraits, and additional personal property was valued at only $2000. The total value of his estate was $7746 of which his Biloxi real estate comprised about 40%.(Harrison County, Mississippi Chancery Court Cause No. 16,850, December 1939)

REFERENCES:

Books

Jean Bragg and Dr. Susan Saward, Painting the Town: The Woodard Brothers come to New Orleans, (Jean Bragg Gallery, New Orleans, Louisiana-2004).

The Buildings of Biloxi: An Architectural Survey, (City of Biloxi: Biloxi, Mississippi-1976).

Regina Hines Ellison, “Ocean Springs, 1892, 2^nd Edition, (Lewis Printing Services: Pascagoula, Mississippi-1991).

Early Views of the Vieux Carre-Guide Book to the French Quarter, (Isaac Delgado Museum: New Orleans, Louisiana-1965).

History of Art in Mississippi, (Dixie Press: Gulfport, Mississippi-1929).

Mississippi Gulf Coast Yesterday and Today (1699-1939), Federal Writers Project in Mississippi Works Progress Administration, (Gulfport, Mississippi-1939).

Charles L. Sullivan, The Mississippi Gulf Coast: Portrait of a People, (Windsor Publications, Inc.-Northridge, California-1985).

Walter Anderson Museum of Art, “Across the Lake: Three New Orleans’ Artists on the Gulf Coast”, June 11-August 31, 1994. Ocean Springs, Mississippi.

Magazines

Down South, “Gulf Coast Tours”, Volume 3, No. 6, November-December 1953.

Chancery Court

Harrison County, Mississippi Chancery Court Cause No. 15,602, “The Estate of Mrs. Louise G. Woodward”, December 1937.

Harrison County, Mississippi Chancery Court Cause No. 16,850, “The Estate of William Woodward”, December 1939.

Federal Court

Civil Action No. 219, “USA v. 265.51 Acres in the City of Biloxi”, 1941.

Journals

The Daily Herald, “Letters-Commends the work of potter”, August 25, 1921.

1922

The Daily Herald, “Art work of Tchouticabouffa clay lasting memorial to potter”, January 28, 1922.

The Daily Herald, “Benachi lot sold”, April 22, 1922.

The Daily Herald, “To return to New Orleans”, July 22, 1922.

The Daily Herald, “Presented with oil painting”, September 2, 1922.

1926

The Daily Herald, “Organize Art Association”, November 19, 1926.

The Daily Herald, “Artist are Biloxi visitors”, November 19, 1926.

The Daily Herald, “Gulf Coast Association”, November 30, 1926.

The Daily Herald,

1927

The Daily Herald, “Opening of Art Exhibit at Library”, February 3, 1927.

The Daily Herald, “Oak Park on the Bay [advertisement]”, February 3, 1927.

The Daily Herald, “Award Made by Jury of Gifted and Competent Artists for Gulf Coast Art Association Exhibition at Biloxi February 4”, February 5, 1927.

The Daily Herald, “Jalan Pottery Arrives”, February 9, 1927.

The Daily Herald, “Art Exhibits Closes Saturday”, February 14, 1927.

The Daily Herald, “Art Exhibits Closes”, February 21, 1927.

The Daily Herald, “Professor Woodward Again Home”, April 21, 1927.

The Daily Herald, “Artist Commences Oak Park Structure”, December 1, 1927.

1928

The Daily Herald, "Joseph Meyer Lived In Biloxi", January 4, 1928, p. 10.

The Daily Herald, “Woodward Home”, February 15, 1928.

The Daily Herald, “Two art exhibitions”, February 16, 1928.

The Daily Herald, “Second annual art exhibition”, February 18, 1928.

The Daily Herald, “Art Exhibit opens at Pass [Christian]”, March 1, 1928.

The Daily Herald, “Biloxi News Paragraphs”, July 23, 1928.

1929

The Daily Herald, “Fine Arts Department Exhibit”, January 11, 1929.

The Daily Herald, “Exhibit of Women Artists”, January 14, 1929.

The Daily Herald, “Dalton funeral tomorrow”, February 15, 1929.

The Daily Herald, “Woodward is again honored”, February 18, 1929.

The Daily Herald, “Another Biloxian Exhibits”, June 13, 1929.

1930

The Daily Herald, “Art prizes offered”, February 5, 1930.

The Daily Herald, “Art Exhibit opens”, February 24, 1930.

The Daily Herald, “Art prizes given in Coast exhibit”, February 27, 1930.

The Daily Herald, "Joseph Meyer Buried", March 18, 1931.

1931

The Daily Herald, “Art exhibition to open on Feb. 12”, February 6, 1931.

The Daily Herald, “Art Association gives reception”, February 12, 1931.

The Daily Herald, “Art exhibition open Sunday”, February 14, 1931.

The Daily Herald, “Art Exhibits”, May 7, 1931.

The Daily Herald, “Coast Art Association”, May 11, 1931.

The Daily Herald, “Junior Art Exhibit”, May 15, 1931.

1932

The Daily Herald, “Art Association meeting”, January 16, 1932.

The Daily Herald, “Art association hear talk on wood block printing”, January 20, 1932.

The Daily Herald, “Art exhibit opens”, February 13, 1932.

The Daily Herald, “Orleans artist [Charles W. Hutson] here”, February 13, 1932.

The Daily Herald, “Art exhibit opens! Women win prizes”, February 15, 1932.

The Daily Herald, “Oil paintings [Vieux Carre] shown”, September 20, 1932.

The Daily Herald, “Miss Dismukes exhibit”, October 31, 1932.

The Daily Herald, “Oil paintings shown”, September 20, 1932.

The Daily Herald, “Biloxi News Paragraphs”, September 26, 1932.

The Daily Herald, “December art exhibit”, November 15, 1932.

The Daily Herald, “Art Ass’n. meeting”, November 24, 1932.

The Daily Herald, “Talks on Etching”, November 29, 1932.

The Daily Herald, “Art Center to Open”, December 6, 1932.

The Daily Herald, “Exhibit Opens Sunday”, December 10, 1932.

The Daily Herald, “Sixth Annual Exhibit”, December 12, 1932.

The Daily Herald, “Art Center Interesting”, December 29, 1932.

1933

The Daily Herald, “Prof. Woodward Resigns”, January 10, 1933.

The Daily Herald, “Etching exhibit at Art Center”, February 15, 1933.

The Daily Herald, “Mr. Anne Munger elected president Art Association”, March 14, 1933.

The Daily Herald, “Art Exhibit in progress”, March 21, 1933.

The Daily Herald, “Art Association tea”, May 2, 1933.

The Daily Herald, “Biloxi News Paragraphs”, September 26, 1933.

1934

The Daily Herald, “Art Exhibit”, February 13, 1934.

The Daily Herald, “Art Exhibit Closes”, February 20, 1934.

The Daily Herald, “Art Association to have graphic arts exhibition in April”, March 6, 1934.

The Daily Herald, “Art Exhibit at Gulf Park”, April 17. 1934.

1935

The Daily Herald, “Noted Artist [W.S. Robinson] in Biloxi”, January 4, 1935.

The Daily Herald, “Summer Art Colony in Biloxi assured”, January 28, 1935.

The Daily Herald, “Professor Woodward Presents Portraits of Deans of Tulane”, June 10, 1935.

The Daily Herald, “Gulf Coast Art Sold [by Wm. Woodward]”, March 11, 1935.

The Daily Herald, “Summer Art Colony”, March 25, 1935.

The Daily Herald, “Annual art show opens”, April 9, 1935.

1936

The Daily Herald, “Mrs. Munger on pottery”, January 7, 1936.

The Daily Herald, “Art exhibit excellent”, March 2, 1936.

The Daily Herald, “Gulf Coast Art Association”, April 4, 1936.

The Daily Herald, “Celebrate 50th wedding anniversary”, July 10, 1936.

1937

The Daily Herald, “Prof. Woodward resigns”, January 10, 1937.

The Daily Herald, “Art Association jury exhibits to open March 8”, February 22, 1937.

The Daily Herald, “Art Association opens exhibit at Gulf Park studio”, March 8, 1937.

The Daily Herald, “Coast scenes predominate in art exhibit now open at Gulf Park”, March 10, 1937.

The Daily Herald, “Spring exhibit in library’, March 16, 1937.

The Daily Herald, “Mrs. William Woodward Dies at Oak Park”, October 31, 1937.

The Daily Herald, “Mrs. Woodward Buried”, November 1, 1937.

The Daily Herald, “Pictures on display”, December 25, 1937.

1938

The Daily Herald, “To hold arts and crafts exhibit at Markham on Monday”, January11, 1938.

The Daily Herald, “To exhibit arts and crafts Monday”, January 15, 1938.

The Daily Herald, “Annual art exhibit opens at Biloxi”, March 22, 1938.

1939

The Daily Herald, “Coast artists display pictures in spring showing”, March 10, 1939.