Violet Oakley and the Woodward Family Collection at Woodmere

Posted 6/8/16

Violet Oakley's murals in the State Capitol, Harrisburg. by MegAnne Liebsch The Woodmere Art Museum’s new exhibition, “Violet Oakley and the Woodward Family,” celebrates the artwork of …

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Violet Oakley and the Woodward Family Collection at Woodmere

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Violet Oakley's murals in the State Capitol, Harrisburg. Violet Oakley's murals in the State Capitol, Harrisburg.

by MegAnne Liebsch

The Woodmere Art Museum’s new exhibition, “Violet Oakley and the Woodward Family,” celebrates the artwork of prominent muralist Violet Oakley and the civic engagement of the Woodward family. The exhibit, which opened last night (June 8) and will run until Aug. 28, explores the friendship between Oakley and the Woodwards and their impact on the Chestnut Hill community.

Oakley was a distinguished Philadelphia-area artist at the turn of the 20th century. She was the primary artist behind many of the murals that adorn the Pennsylvania Capitol buildings. She was also a talented portrait and landscape painter, a stained glass artist, a newspaper illustrator and the first woman to receive the Gold Medal of Honor from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. The Woodward family were patrons of her art, as well as her close friends.

“Violet is one of the groundbreaking figures in American art,” said William Valerio, director of the Woodmere Art Museum. “She was something of a renaissance woman.”

In 1902, when Oakley was tasked with creating the murals for the Capitol, she became the first woman in the United States to be commissioned for a public mural. Oakley painted most of these murals on a Chestnut Hill area property that the Woodward family rented to her.

David Contosta, professor of history at Chestnut Hill College and Woodward family biographer, described Oakley’s contributions to the Chestnut Hill community, saying, “Violet Oakley was a big deal. made Chestnut Hill a more interesting place.”

Violet Oakley Violet Oakley

In the early 1900s, Oakley and her artist friends lived on a property in Villanova called the Red Rose Inn. When they were kicked out of their residence, George and Gertrude Woodward offered to rent them a renovated farmhouse just over the Chestnut Hill border in Mt. Airy. The property became known as Cogslea (the C, O, G and S stood for the artists’ last names and “lea” referred to the sloping hill in front of the property).

“ was a presence in the community for a number of years,” Contosta noted. Oakley lived in Chestnut Hill and Philadelphia from 1896 until 1961.

In addition to planning and building many of the housing structures in Chestnut Hill, the Woodwards also influenced the people who lived there. The family attracted interesting, talented and creative people to the Chestnut Hill neighborhood, and, according to Contosta. Oakley and her friends were prominent and distinguished additions to the community.

“They wanted artists to be included here… believed art makes for a better life,” Valerio said.

Oakley’s contributions to Chestnut Hill extend to Woodmere Art Museum itself. At the start of World War II, Oakley’s art student and lover Edith Emerson became the second director of the Woodmere. Over her nearly 40-year tenure, Emerson – with the influence of Oakley – shaped the focus of the museum’s collection.

“It was Edith and Violet that really helped focus Woodmere’s art on Philadelphia artists,” Valerio explained.

While Oakley had her hand in many Philadelphia art projects, her crowning achievement is considered to be her Capitol building murals. Over 25 years, Oakley created 43 murals for Pennsylvania’s Capitol, most of which were painted and designed at Cogslea. Inspired by the beliefs of Pennsylvania’s founder William Penn, her murals focused on the themes of liberty, religious tolerance, justice and peace. After the Capitol designs were completed in 1906, she went on to work on murals for the Pennsylvania Senate and Supreme Court Chambers.

Although her largest works were the Capitol murals, Oakley also did a number of private commissions for the Chestnut Hill area, such as paintings at Chestnut Hill Academy and some of the art collected and exhibited at Woodmere.

Valerio says that as a result of the Woodward celebration, Woodmere has gone through many of their Oakley archives. They recently found an ex-libris (a unique bookplate used to identify its owner) designed by Oakley for George Woodward.

As patrons of her art, the Woodward family became very close with Oakley, and she created several works of art for them in particular. A mosaic, titled “St. George and St. Gertrude” depicts George and Gertrude Woodward slaying a dragon, which represents the landlord of the Red Rose Inn who threw out Oakley and her friends. In the background of the mosaic is Cogslea.

When the Woodwards’ son, Henry Howard “Houston” Woodward, died in World War I and their daughter Gertrude “Quita” Woodward passed away in 1934, Oakley did commemorative paintings of the children for the Woodwards. Woodmere has also found sketches for a full-length portrait of the Gertrude Woodward (although they are not sure if the portrait was ever executed).  These family artworks are on display in the exhibit.

Oakley also accompanied George and Gertrude Woodward on a trip to Morocco in 1928 where she painted landscapes as well as sketches of the Woodwards. These pieces are also featured in the exhibit.

“Everything we’re doing [at Woodmere] is in homage and thanks to the beauty the Woodwards have brought to us,” Valerio said.

The collection is part of an overall celebration of the Woodward family and their contributions to the Chestnut Hill community. Events will take place from June 8 through June 12 to commemorate the Woodwards and to mark the 100th anniversary of the Chestnut Hill Community Centre.

To buy tickets for Woodward Celebration events, visit woodwardcommunitycentre.org. For more information about the exhibit, go to https://woodmereartmuseum.org/experience/exhibitions/violet-oakley-and-the-woodward-family

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