William John Wood

William John Wood

William John Wood, labourer, artist (b near Ottawa 26 May 1877; d at Midland, Ont 5 Jan 1954). Although isolated from the contemporary artistic centres of his day, and obliged to work as an unskilled labourer for most of his life, Wood nonetheless pursued an intense lifelong interest in art, especially etching, through which he expressed his immediate experience of life in Midland in a bold, personal style. This style, evolved from familiarity with impressionism and the Swedish etcher Anders Zorn, attracted the attention of the GROUP OF SEVEN, with whom he exhibited on several occasions. Wood was a member of the Soc of Canadian Painter-Etchers and Engravers, the Canadian Soc of Graphic Art and a founding member of the Canadian Group of Painters.