Loch Vale

1919–1925

Teaches art in the Cedar Rapids public schools

From 1919 to 1925 Wood taught art to junior high school students in the Cedar Rapids public schools; the seasonal job gave him financial stability and let him spend summers in Europe studying art.

1919–1925

A “Mourner’s Bench” for misbehaving pupils

During his teaching years Wood experimented with woodworking and metalworking; for example, he built a bench for students who broke the rules to sit on while awaiting punishment from the principal, and titled it “Mourner’s Bench”, a humorous reference to the mourner’s bench of Methodist churches.

1922–1928

Four trips to Europe: the Impressionists and Van Eyck

Between 1922 and 1928 Wood made four trips to Europe, studying many styles of painting, especially Impressionism and Post-Impressionism; it was the 15th-century Flemish artist Jan van Eyck who influenced him most, giving him the clarity of technique that he brought into his new work.

1924–1935

“5 Turner Alley”: a studio in a carriage-house hayloft

From 1924 to 1935 Wood lived with his mother in the hayloft of a carriage house in Cedar Rapids that he had converted into his personal studio; it had no address until Wood made one up: “5 Turner Alley”.

1928

Munich: stained-glass windows for the Veterans Memorial

In 1928 Wood travelled to Munich to oversee the making of the stained-glass windows he had designed for the Veterans Memorial Building in Cedar Rapids.