Laura Woodward was born in Mount Hope in Orange County, New York, in 1834, and by the early 1870s she was a professional artist living in New York City. She painted in the Catskills, the White Mountains, the Adirondacks, the Green Mountains, and captured the Maine and Massachusetts coasts and the Connecticut, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania landscapes on canvas as well. A member of the Hudson River School and White Mountain School, she exhibited at the American Art Gallery, National Academy of Design, Boston Art Club, Brooklyn Art Association, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the Centennial Exposition of 1876, and several other venues including numerous Midwest and Southern expositions. Her reviews in the New York Times, the Brooklyn Eagle and art publications of the day were glowing and her paintings commanded higher prices than some of her male colleagues. She also exhibited with the American Water Color Society at the National Academy of Design.
Woodward began to spend the winters in St. Augustine, Florida, in the 1880s and by the end of 1889 she had joined Martin Johnson Heade and the other artists at Henry M. Flagler's Ponce de Leon Hotel. Laura Woodward was to become one of Florida's greatest publicists and integral to the development of Palm Beach County.
She was disappointed in St. Augustine because it was not as tropical as she had hoped, so she traveled throughout Florida searching for exotic plants and flowers. She was told of how beautiful Palm Beach was and made the arduous trip south to discover the true tropical foliage she was longing for. By 1890 she was spending time in Palm Beach, and when Henry Morrison Flagler was constructing his Palm Beach Hotel Royal Poinciana in 1893, he established a temporary studio for Woodward there - a permanent one was included when the hotel was completed in 1894.
Laura Woodward became quite well known for her delicate renderings in oil and watercolor of unspoiled nature throughout Florida--most notably the Palm Beach jungles and its flowers. In 1920, when the Palm Beach Art League was founded, Woodward became an honorary member. Tragically, due to failing eyesight, she was unable to continue painting by then but remained highly regarded as the famous Florida artist and the pioneer artist of Palm Beach. She continued living in Palm Beach until 1926 when, at the age of 92, it was necessary for her to move to St. Cloud where her caregivers lived. She died shortly thereafter.
© --Deborah C. Pollack The book about Laura Woodward: The Artist Behind the Innovator Who Developed Palm Beach, published in association with the Historical Society of Palm Beach County, has been completed and will available in September 2009. Deborah C. Pollack continues to research Laura Woodward and is still searching for material concerning the artist including diaries, letters, paintings, photographs of Woodward, or living relatives of the artist who may have information about her life. Please contact Deborah C. Pollack at: 561-655-1425 or email dcpollack@bellsouth.net.
Laura Woodward (American, 1834-1926) - A Brief Biography and Historical Book Information
View in Clarendon, Vermont, 1874 Scene at Fort Dallas, Miami River, c.1895
Scene at Fort Dallas, Miami River, c.1895
Above: Artist Marie Liu portraying Laura Woodward at the 175th Anniversary of the town of Mount Hope on May 18, 2008, at the Eleazer Harding House in Otisville, New York. If it hadn't been raining, Marie would have
been painting in the forest!
Workmen's Camp, Palm Beach, 1893
Left and below: Actress Heidi Harris portraying Laura Woodward for the televised documentary about the artist, written and directed by Alan Gerstel for the The Education Network, which serves the School District
of Palm Beach County.
Above: Heidi Harris as Laura Woodward
