Percy John Woodrow 1878-1947
The two paintings shown below are those which occupied pride of place in the Dining Room in Garfield Avenue, having been purchased from the artist by my parents in Lyme Regis.
When I originally created this website I had unfortunately been unable to find any reference to the artist P J Woodrow. In June of 2012 I was contacted by Jan Lucas with the following information.
"I too was looking into the paintings of P J Woodrow. My mother purchased them during WWII while stationed in England. She was a Lt. with the Women's Army Corp sometime in the late thirties or early forties. what a surprise to see you have the same 2 paintings with a few minor changes. Mine have no people in them but the streetscapes are the same."
I also contacted Lyme Regis Museum having discovered paintings by PJ Woodrow in the National Paintings Collection project. and this is what they had to say at the time.
"John Fowles, the famous author & for some years the hon. curator at this museum, bought our two oil paintings, of Lyme Regis during the war, by P J Woodrow in 1978. In his curator's report of 1978, John believed that P J Woodrow worked in Lyme Regis during WWII as a painting restorer."
"Your information supports John Fowles's thoughts that P J Woodrow was working in Lyme, during the war, as a painting restorer, whilst painting and selling his works at the same time. Lyme Regis was an odd place during the war. Many of the buildings were requisitioned by British and American troops, prior to D-Day, but some of the hotels remained open and people still came on holiday. Records were not easy to keep in such circumstances. P J Woodrow is not recorded in the 1945 Electoral registers, but that we be expected if he was boarding somewhere. I have to approach local people in their 80/90s who might remember him!"
"All the circumstantial evidence indicates that P J Woodrow was in Lyme during the war, painting pictures of the sea front. When John Fowles bought the paintings for the museum in 1978, he must have gained a little information at that time. However, apart from that, we know nothing of the man. Civilian records were sparse during the war and Lyme Regis in 1944 prior to D-day was very secret. I have spoken to several local people, who are now in their 80s, but no-one remembers a painter called Woodrow.
One thing has occurred to us in the museum. The paintings are dated, but they are not a true reflection of the scenes at that time. During the war, Lyme Regis was fortified on the sea front with barbed wire, pill boxes and tank traps; all highly visible!
Time for speculation. Photography of military defences on the front was banned or severely restricted during the war. This may also have applied to the content of artist's pictures. However, it may well be, that P J was looking ahead at future sales of his pictures, and painted his pictures based on more peaceful times. It has also occurred to us that he may have used pre-war postcards in helping with the content of his pictures. The fact that he used the 19th century term "The Walk" for the Marine Parade also suggests he was creating a theme for his paintings.
Enough of speculation. We all have excellent examples of the work of a man we know almost nothing about. Our archives and databases at the museum are continually evolving so we will keep this enquiry on the back burner and will report if anything new turns up."
Later in 2012 I received an update from David Tucker the Curator of Lyme Regis Museum.
"The date that the paintings were created probably is the 1940s, as the museum’s Chief Researcher, Graham Davies pointed out to me yesterday. It is Graham’s belief that the artist may have painted from photographs, as his works seem to ignore the simple fact that the beach here was covered in barbed wire at the time. Obviously, photography would have been banned in such a sensitive area as the south coast between 1939 and late 1944 (possibly even 1945). It would have been even more difficult between 1943 and 1944 when the whole of southern England was an armed camp. Dorset was heaving with GIs as it was from this area that soldiers went to land on Omaha and Utah beaches on the Manche and Grandcamp-Maisy in Normandy.
However, we know that occasional snaps were taken – although this is not common because of the rationing on the chemicals used to develop film. It is highly unlikely that Woodrow would have been allowed to stand on the sea front and paint – he would find himself arrested pretty sharpish as a potential fifth columnist."
Below are the two paintings currently in the Lyme Regis Museum collection. The first of these 'The Walk, 1940s' is remarkably similar to one of those I now own. The second 'The Cobb, Lyme Regis, Dorset, 1944' is also a variation of one other painting which I have not shown but is also in my possession. It appears that, like Monet and others P J Woodrow produced many variants of the same scene.
"I too was looking into the paintings of P J Woodrow. My mother purchased them during WWII while stationed in England. She was a Lt. with the Women's Army Corp sometime in the late thirties or early forties. what a surprise to see you have the same 2 paintings with a few minor changes. Mine have no people in them but the streetscapes are the same."
I also contacted Lyme Regis Museum having discovered paintings by PJ Woodrow in the National Paintings Collection project. and this is what they had to say at the time.
"John Fowles, the famous author & for some years the hon. curator at this museum, bought our two oil paintings, of Lyme Regis during the war, by P J Woodrow in 1978. In his curator's report of 1978, John believed that P J Woodrow worked in Lyme Regis during WWII as a painting restorer."
"Your information supports John Fowles's thoughts that P J Woodrow was working in Lyme, during the war, as a painting restorer, whilst painting and selling his works at the same time. Lyme Regis was an odd place during the war. Many of the buildings were requisitioned by British and American troops, prior to D-Day, but some of the hotels remained open and people still came on holiday. Records were not easy to keep in such circumstances. P J Woodrow is not recorded in the 1945 Electoral registers, but that we be expected if he was boarding somewhere. I have to approach local people in their 80/90s who might remember him!"
"All the circumstantial evidence indicates that P J Woodrow was in Lyme during the war, painting pictures of the sea front. When John Fowles bought the paintings for the museum in 1978, he must have gained a little information at that time. However, apart from that, we know nothing of the man. Civilian records were sparse during the war and Lyme Regis in 1944 prior to D-day was very secret. I have spoken to several local people, who are now in their 80s, but no-one remembers a painter called Woodrow.
One thing has occurred to us in the museum. The paintings are dated, but they are not a true reflection of the scenes at that time. During the war, Lyme Regis was fortified on the sea front with barbed wire, pill boxes and tank traps; all highly visible!
Time for speculation. Photography of military defences on the front was banned or severely restricted during the war. This may also have applied to the content of artist's pictures. However, it may well be, that P J was looking ahead at future sales of his pictures, and painted his pictures based on more peaceful times. It has also occurred to us that he may have used pre-war postcards in helping with the content of his pictures. The fact that he used the 19th century term "The Walk" for the Marine Parade also suggests he was creating a theme for his paintings.
Enough of speculation. We all have excellent examples of the work of a man we know almost nothing about. Our archives and databases at the museum are continually evolving so we will keep this enquiry on the back burner and will report if anything new turns up."
Later in 2012 I received an update from David Tucker the Curator of Lyme Regis Museum.
"The date that the paintings were created probably is the 1940s, as the museum’s Chief Researcher, Graham Davies pointed out to me yesterday. It is Graham’s belief that the artist may have painted from photographs, as his works seem to ignore the simple fact that the beach here was covered in barbed wire at the time. Obviously, photography would have been banned in such a sensitive area as the south coast between 1939 and late 1944 (possibly even 1945). It would have been even more difficult between 1943 and 1944 when the whole of southern England was an armed camp. Dorset was heaving with GIs as it was from this area that soldiers went to land on Omaha and Utah beaches on the Manche and Grandcamp-Maisy in Normandy.
However, we know that occasional snaps were taken – although this is not common because of the rationing on the chemicals used to develop film. It is highly unlikely that Woodrow would have been allowed to stand on the sea front and paint – he would find himself arrested pretty sharpish as a potential fifth columnist."
Below are the two paintings currently in the Lyme Regis Museum collection. The first of these 'The Walk, 1940s' is remarkably similar to one of those I now own. The second 'The Cobb, Lyme Regis, Dorset, 1944' is also a variation of one other painting which I have not shown but is also in my possession. It appears that, like Monet and others P J Woodrow produced many variants of the same scene.
Recently I have received the following update from Graham Davies at Lyme Regis Museum.
"At last we have some information on the elusive P J Woodrow. Whilst studying the Lyme Regis cemetery burial book, a colleague discovered that a Percy John Woodrow, artist, was buried in the cemetery. From this, I have been able to add to our knowledge of the man.
Percy John Woodrow (1878-1947) was a London artist and picture restorer. He was born, brought up, educated and worked in Kentish Town, where he lived with his wife Jessie and their son Eric. From at least 1929-39, they lived in Hendon. He died on April 15, 1947 at Lyme Regis Hospital. He was staying at the Clarence Hotel, Broad Street, Lyme Regis at the time. I have yet to discover what happened to Jessie Woodrow after 1939, and what circumstances led PJW to come to Lyme Regis. PJW's grave site has not yet been identified.
The Museum has received a donation of another painting by P J Woodrow - The Old Mill, Uplyme (adjoining parish to Lyme Regis)."
"At last we have some information on the elusive P J Woodrow. Whilst studying the Lyme Regis cemetery burial book, a colleague discovered that a Percy John Woodrow, artist, was buried in the cemetery. From this, I have been able to add to our knowledge of the man.
Percy John Woodrow (1878-1947) was a London artist and picture restorer. He was born, brought up, educated and worked in Kentish Town, where he lived with his wife Jessie and their son Eric. From at least 1929-39, they lived in Hendon. He died on April 15, 1947 at Lyme Regis Hospital. He was staying at the Clarence Hotel, Broad Street, Lyme Regis at the time. I have yet to discover what happened to Jessie Woodrow after 1939, and what circumstances led PJW to come to Lyme Regis. PJW's grave site has not yet been identified.
The Museum has received a donation of another painting by P J Woodrow - The Old Mill, Uplyme (adjoining parish to Lyme Regis)."