The Life and Art of William J. Wood
William J. Wood was a Canadian painter and etcher born near Ottawa. His early life involved working on ships on the Great Lakes after leaving his family farm on Lake Erie. His formal artistic training began around 1900 at the Eric Pape School of Art in Boston, Massachusetts, followed by studies at the Central Ontario School of Art and Industrial Design between 1904 and 1905. During this period, he studied under George Agnew Reid, William Cruikshank, Charles Manly, and Robert Holmes.
Wood's career was marked by a deep connection to Midland, Ontario, his hometown, where he worked at the shipyards and settled in 1913. His artistic output included etchings and paintings, with much of his work depicting scenes from Midland. He was a member of several organizations, including the Canadian Group of Painters, the Canadian Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers, and the Canadian Society of Graphic Art. He was also a close friend of Group of Seven members Arthur Lismer and A.Y. Jackson, and was listed as a member of the Group of Seven in a 1923 exhibition.
Exhibitions and Legacy
Throughout his career, Wood exhibited his work at various venues, including the Ontario Society of Artists and the Canadian Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers. His etchings and paintings were featured in a 1924 exhibition at the British Empire Exhibition in Wembley, England. In the 1930s, during the Depression, he produced many of his most vigorous etchings and paintings while unemployed at the shipyards.
His artistic legacy is preserved in several notable collections, including:
In 1983, the Art Gallery of Ontario created a travelling retrospective titled W. J. Wood (1877-1954) Paintings and Graphics. He died in Midland in 1954.
