Biography

David Wood was born in Scotland, the son of Frank Wood and grandson of Frank Watson Wood (1862-1953), both painters. Frank Watson Wood, originally a Royal Navy Officer, later became a “naval artist” whose work was purchased by King Edward VII and hung in the Royal Boat. Queen Alexandra also bought some watercolour paintings from him. As a young man David went into the Merchant Navy and travelled to the Far East (mainly China and Hong Kong), bringing back sketch books containing exquisite pen and watercolour drawings. He attended Edinburgh Art College, the Sir John Cass College, London and the Slade School of Art, London in the 1960’s. He later moved from London to Dedham where he lived for many years as a well-established artist. He was a member of Colchester Art Society (since 1980), Ipswich Art Society and Gainsborough Print Workshop in Sudbury. He was a painter of landscapes, still lifes and many themes from his extensive travels abroad and considered himself a “peoplescape” painter – movement and colour being important factors in his work. David exhibited in Galleries in London and East Anglia, and had many solo exhibitions. His paintings are in municipal, business and private collections in the U.K. and abroad as listed below.

Statement

This painting shows the artist’s draughtsmanship and fine sense of colour. It represents an urban scene on a rainy day, with people hurrying under the protection of umbrellas and workers, oblivious to the weather, in their yellow working gear, and a background of cranes and buildings under construction. With its well caught figures in action the whole effect, despite its bleak subject and strong composition, has a certain degree of elegance and refinement.

Selected Exhibitions

Solo

The Minories, Colchester, The Encroaching City (first exhibition), 1987

The Quay Gallery, Sudbury

The John Russell Gallery, Ipswich

Littlegarth, Dedham

Newman Street, London (in aid of The Charleston Trust)

The Beecroft Gallery, Southend-on-Sea

Mainhill Gallery, Ancrum, Jedburgh (The Scottish Borders)

Hayletts Gallery, Colchester, c.1993, c.1996

Mixed

The Royal Society of British Artists

The Royal Society of Marine Artists

United Society of Artists

The Beecroft Gallery, Southend-on-Sea

The Bloomsbury Workshop, London

The Bury St Edmunds Galleries, Bury St Edmunds

The Meyer Gallery, Ingatestone

The Chappel Gallery, Chappel

The John Russell Gallery, Ipswich

Works in Public Collections

Hidden Pond, The Hepworth Wakefield Gallery, Wakefield, West Yorkshire

Estuary, Evening, Artemis, ArtForms, Leeds

To Get to the Other Side III, Huddersfield Art Gallery, Kirklees, West Yorkshire

Bibliography

BUCKMAN, David, Dictionary of artists in Britain since 1945, Art Dictionaries Ltd, Bristol, 1998, p. 1301

Art UK