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Rex Woods - Buy War Savings Stamps Every Friday

Buy War Savings Stamps Every Friday

Rex Woods (Canadian, 1903 – 1987)
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Rex Woods

Rex Woods was an English-born Canadian artist and illustrator in Toronto, Ontario.

Born Reginald Norman Woods in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England, Woods came to Toronto as a young man in 1920 and studied at the Ontario College of Art. After graduating, he worked in various Toronto art studios. In 1928 he married Etheldreda Jeanne Mott, a ballet dancer with the Metropolitan Opera Company. Sometime in the 1930s, Woods decided to work independently and quickly became one of Canada's most successful and sought-after illustrators. He contributed on a regular basis to popular magazines such as Maclean's and the Canadian Home Journal, and drew advertisements for many of Canada's leading companies. He painted one of the most iconic Canadian images of the twentieth century, The Macdonald's Lassie, used for decades by Macdonald Tobacco on their Export "A" brand of cigarettes. Not so widely known is his important monumental group portrait of the Fathers of Confederation, a copy of the original by Robert Harris destroyed in the fire on Parliament Hill in 1916. The copy is a liberal recreation in which Woods added three figures to the original composition. The picture was commissioned by Confederation Life Assurance and donated as a centennial gift to the country in 1967. It hangs in Parliament.

Woods's commercial illustrations are indicative of several threads in the popular culture of Canada between 1930 and 1950. His magazine covers often objectify and idealize women but this work is perhaps more reflective of his clients and their market than the artist's own attitude. Certainly he was watching the work of major American illustrators such as JC Leyendecker, since Woods borrows some of Leyendecker's trademark white-on-white brushstrokes and New Year's baby themes. Unlike Norman Rockwell, to whom he has also been logically compared, some of Woods's pictures, such as The Vision of the Cross (1935, ROM 998.86.110) are profoundly disturbing and are indicative of his long-standing objections to war.

From the time it was newly built, Woods lived with his wife in the same Toronto apartment. Long-standing residents of the building reported that the apartment became a repository for a huge body of his work. Woods's obituary was published in the Toronto Star on 19 November 1987. Jeanne died in 1996 without heirs or successors; much of Woods's material came as a gift from her estate to the Royal Ontario Museum. Woods's style was instantly recognizable in his own time and his work was widely circulated in almost every part of Canada. After he ceased to be active, however, Woods fell into virtual oblivion. In recent years there has been a revival of interest in Woods and his imagery. An untitled display, with few interpretive panels, appeared at the Royal Ontario Museum in the winter of 2009–10, and comprised 17 works, chiefly Canadian Home Journal cover art.

In Collection: World War II Posters (View all 879)

Me travel; …not this summer. Vacation at home

Me travel; …not this summer. Vacation at home (1945)

Albert Dorne (American, 1904 - 1965)
We’re in the Army Now – Your Aid is Vital!

We’re in the Army Now – Your Aid is Vital!

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Wanted: Scrap Metal…To Make Tanks, Shells, Guns

Wanted: Scrap Metal…To Make Tanks, Shells, Guns

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You and the R.A.F. can Smash Germany

You and the R.A.F. can Smash Germany

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Good Arc Welders Watch – Good Welds Help Win the War!

Good Arc Welders Watch – Good Welds Help Win the War!

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John Bull is Pulling in his Belt! Example of Food Restriction in Great Britain

John Bull is Pulling in his Belt! Example of Food Restriction in Great Britain

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You Are Wanted Too! Join the A.T.S.

You Are Wanted Too! Join the A.T.S.

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Save Waste Bones

Save Waste Bones

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Help Britain Finish the Job! 2

Help Britain Finish the Job! 2

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Wanted: Scrap Metal…To Make Tanks, Guns, Ammunition

Wanted: Scrap Metal…To Make Tanks, Guns, Ammunition

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Straight to the Point – Zinc!

Straight to the Point – Zinc!

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What Will You Do When This ‘Do’ is Over

What Will You Do When This ‘Do’ is Over

Ricky RCAF (Canadian, 20th Century)
The Man Who Wasted Power! Don’t be Fuel-ish

The Man Who Wasted Power! Don’t be Fuel-ish

Henry Mayo Bateman (English, 1887 – 1970)
Look Ahead – Foresight is Better than Hindsight

Look Ahead – Foresight is Better than Hindsight

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Jugoslav Guerillas – The Second Front in Europe

Jugoslav Guerillas – The Second Front in Europe

Leopoldo Méndez (Mexican, 1902 – 1969)
View all 879 Artworks

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