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- from "The Oregonian", 29 Mar 1920 (genealogybank.com)
UNUSUAL ART IS LOST: Death of Mrs. M.F. Woods Ends Career of Study
Artist Known as Originator of Indian Dolls and for Production of New Color
With the death of Mrs. M.F. Woods last Tuesday* is lost an unusual form of art that has been especially known among tourists who have visited Portland, for Mrs. Woods was the originator of the blanket Indian dolls which had a world-wide commercial distribution. Funeral services will be held for the late artist today at 2:30 o'clock from Holmans undertaking chapel. Mrs. Woods was born at Mount Clemens, Mich., 52 years ago and came to Oregon in 1898, opening a studio in the tower of the old Marquam building. Later she moved to the seventh floor of the structure and finally took permanent quarters in the Royal annex. She was a student of the Julian Art School of Chicago and of Chase Insitute in New York. She also studied portrait painting with Sargent and worked under an old Italian sculptor in New York. She then visited Indian reservations to familiarize herself with the life there. At this time she specialized in tapestry painting. Two achievements have distinguished Mrs. Woods among local artists. After intensive study she formulated a tint that is the deep blue used in many of the colored photographs of Crater Lake. Her best known work was the creation of the Indian statuettes
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- Mary Francis Woods was born in Michigan. After her early school years she traveled to Chicago to begin her formal training in the arts at the Julien School. Her strong interest in history and her passion in particular for the West led her to leave Chicago to study tribes such as the Nez Perce, the Umatilla, and the Cheyenne. By living on their reservations and observing their culture and daily lives she came to know the tribes in a very personal way. She later continued her artistic studies at the Chase School in New York arriving there sometime around 1903. Although it is not known exactly when, the West again beckoned Mary Francis and she left New York to be closer to her true source of inspiration. She settled in Portland Oregon and began her career.
Mary Francis spent years perfecting the design of the dolls. It was a solely local endeavor dependent on the tourist trade. The leather painted faces were replaced with molded mask faces made from light brown crepe paper over plaster. The thin lines in the crepe paper gave the faces a realistic and weathered appearance. Every detail of the facial features were delicately painted, further enhancing each dolls individual look. The simple tubular bodies were stuffed at the torso and wrapped with traditional patterned blankets. Wood feet, painted to look like moccasins, were nailed to the base. Some dolls were created on small blocks and fashioned in a seated position. As with Skookum Indian dolls the variety is endless!
Soon after the war, M.F. Woods? son, G.B. Woods, became affiliated with his mother?s business. As the popularity and demand for the dolls grew, so did their office space and production. It wasn?t long before several firms were eager to discuss possible distribution rights for the dolls. In 1920 Mary Frances Woods signed a contract with the Konstucto Company making them sole distributors of the dolls in Portland Oregon and New York City. ?The new home of the Woods? toy presents a great contrast to the crowded space of the old studio, where Mrs. Woods and a few assistants used to make dolls for the season trade. In the shipping room are rows of great paper boxes containing dozens of dolls, which are destined to go to American firms, or to toy dealers of England, Australia, Spain, Mexico, Chile, and Argentina.? Toys And Novelties, 1921
t was shortly after her affiliation with the Konstructo Company and the commercial success of her dolls, that Mary Francis Woods passed away. G.B. Woods assumed total control of the company. He enthusiastically and aggressively carried on the work of his mother well into the 1930s. Mary Francis Woods dolls have long been popular collectibles even gracing the homes of Presidents Taft and Wilson. They continue to be appreciated by collectors today as wonderful portrayals of our noble native people.
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1869 - 1920 (50 years)
