작품 상세

Barrio Scene signed and dated 1948 (lower left) oil on canvas 16" x 24" (41 cm x 61 cm) PROVENANCE Acquired directly from the artist by Paul H. Wood, President of the International Harvest Company, sometime in the late 1940s to 1950s Asia. During World War II, Wood served in the US Army for four years as a major and lieutenant colonel in an Armored Division (Interestingly, the IH was also responsible for manufacturing several pieces of machinery for the US army during the war, most notably Mark 13 torpedoes that were primarily responsible for the sinking of the Yamamoto, Japan's most powerful battleship.). As lieutenant colonel, Wood commanded the “Harvester’s Battalion,” composed of enlisted men who were employed by or affiliated with the IH. After the war, Wood settled in the Philippines and was responsible for reorganizing the IH's pre-war company structure and organization. Wood became president of the highly influential American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines in 1950, while simultaneously serving as Vice President of the IH Philippines. After his term, Wood assumed post as one of the members of the Chamber's Board. He would also become a councilor of the Chamber's Foreign and Domestic Trade Controls Committee, attending hearings held by the Philippine Congress on matters and bills related to USPhilippine trade relations and trade controls. One of the most notable hearings that Wood attended was the one centering on the Retail Trade Nationalization Bill, which aimed to protect Filipino retailers. The bill would be signed into law by President Ramon Magsaysay on June 19, 1954. With his vested interests in Philippine business and enterprise, Wood would rub elbows and befriend powerful figures in the Philippine government, most notably Magsaysay, who became president from 1953 to 1957, during Wood's tenure as a board member of the Chamber and councilor in one of its committees. At this time, Wood had already become President and General Manager of the IH Philippines, and it was also possibly around this period that Wood met Anita, who was, of course, President Magsaysay’s cousin. Likely drawn to and enamored with the piece's quaint, rustic charm, Wood purchased the painting directly from Anita. Wood very much cherished this painting, even bringing it with him when he left the Philippines sometime in 1963 to settle permanently in Florida.