Wood, Paul W(inthrop) 1922-2003

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WOOD, Paul W(inthrop) 1922-2003

PERSONAL: Born August 29, 1922, in Kingsville, ON, Canada; died August 24, 2003, in Port Washington, NY; son of Albert G. (an architect) and Louise (Moyer) Wood; married Jacqueline Stark (a pianist), September 4, 1953; children: Stephen, Gregory, Mark, Paul M. Education: Attended Grand Central School of Art, 1938, New School for Social Research, 1939, and Art Students League, 1939-41, 1946-47. Politics: Independent. Religion: Roman Catholic.

CAREER: Portrait painter, 1948; Paul W. Wood Studio, Port Washington, NY, owner, 1949-68; part-time course tutor, Open University, Milton Keynes, England, beginning in 1980, Department of Art History, 1993-2003. Former president of Pleasant Hill, Inc.; former director of Albert Wood and Five Sons, Inc. and of Paul W. Wood School of Art. Member of art advisory council of Port Washington Public Library, 1960-68. Military service: U.S. Army, 1943-46; served in Asiatic-Pacific theater; became sergeant.

AWARDS, HONORS: Emily Lowe Award for Contemporary Art, 1960, and Audubon Artists Award, 1961, both from Audubon Artists, Inc.

WRITINGS:

Starting with Stained Glass, Sterling (New York, NY), 1963, 1973.

Stained Glass Crafting, Sterling (New York, NY), 1967, revised edition, 1971.

Painting Abstract Landscapes, Sterling (New York, NY), 1969.

Artistry in Stained Glass, Sterling (New York, NY), 1976.

Working with Stained Glass, Sterling (New York, NY), 1981.

(Editor with Charles Harrison) Art in Theory, 1900-1990: An Anthology of Changing Ideas, Blackwell (Cambridge, MA), 1993.

(With others) Modernism in Dispute: Art since the Forties, Yale University Press (New Haven, CT), 1993.

(With Briony Fer and David Batchelor) Realism, Rationalism, Surrealism: Art between the Wars, Yale University Press (New Haven, CT), 1993.

(Editor with Charles Harrison and Jason Gaiger) Art in Theory, 1815-1900: An Anthology of Changing Ideas, Blackwell (Malden, MA), 1998.

(Editor) The Challenge of the Avant Garde, Yale University Press (New Haven, CT), 1999.

(Editor with Charles Harrison and Jason Gaiger) Art in Theory, 1648-1815: An Anthology of Changing Ideas, Blackwell (Malden, MA), 2001.

Conceptual Art, Tate Gallery Publishing, Ltd. (London, England), 2001.

(Editor with Charles Harrison) Art in Theory, 1900-2000: An Anthology of Changing Ideas, Blackwell (Malden, MA), 2003.

Also published articles about art history in periodicals and anthologies.

SIDELIGHTS: Paul W. Wood was an artist, a lecturer in art history, and the author of several books on art theory. Among his most significant critical accomplishments is the publication of Art in Theory: 1900-1990: An Anthology of Changing Ideas, which Wood coedited with Charles Harrison as part of a series. Critics warmly received the volume and considered it complimentary to Hershel B. Chipp's Theories of Modern Art anthology, long considered the standard sourcebook for the history of Modernism in Art. In a review of the work published in British Journal of Aesthetics, Brian Kennedy described the volume as "all-embracing," and concluded, "The authors have succeeded admirably in illustrating the changing nature of art. They make it plain that ideas are rarely set in concrete and demonstrate that the shifting sands of social change force realignments from time to time." Writing in Artforum International, Michael Corris dubbed the volume Chipp II and believed that the authors have "brought the story of Modernism up to date, not merely by appending a post-Modernist tail to the original, but also by significantly increasing the number and variety of pre-1968 reflections on Modernism."

Among his many other publications, Wood penned Realism, Rationalism, Surrealism: Art between the Wars, part of a series written for an Open University course, and Conceptual Art, part of the Cambridge "Movements in Modern Art" series. Wood coauthored Realism, Rationalism, Surrealism with Briony Fer and David Batchelor. According to Jane A. Sharp in Art Bulletin, the fourth chapter, "Realisms and Realities," authored only by Wood, is "intriguing." Commented Sharp, "His account of the Bertholt-Georg Lukacs divide is a significant inclusion for a survey text on modernism; by now it is surely a reasonable way to conclude a study of the 1920s and 1930s."

In a review of Conceptual Art published in Library Journal, Michael Dashkin explained, "Conceptual Art was a revolution within a revolution, developing parallel to and inside of Modernism while radically questioning Modernism's goals." Conceptual Art is an art of ideas that produces documents rather than objects, a concept those without a background in art history might have trouble understanding. Dashkin cautioned that readers might struggle with the "complexity and jargon" and recommended the book for college art students.