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Ad Code: 4
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An example of work by Arthur Van Zile Bodwell
Artwork images are copyright of the artist or assignee
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This biography from the Archives of AskART:
|  The following, submitted September 2004, is from Bill Bickley whose source is Bill Heller of Stamford, CT. Heller is the last surviving member of the family of the artist who lived in Stamford, Connecticut. The artist's parents were John and Elizabeth (Zile) Bodwell. Bickley owns several paintings by Bodwell.
Basically, what I recall about Mr. Bodwell is that he truly was your 'undiscovered famous artist.' My impression of him was that he was a loner, who preferred to live alone and paint. Looking back, I think that my father happened to see some of his paintings at his studio which at the time, I think, was located just off Long Ridge Road at the intersection of Roxbury Road, the original building having been torn down years ago, to be replaced by a traffic circle.
As I recall, my Dad was quite taken with Mr. Bodwell, and, after having purchased one of his paintings, became a friend, and sort of patron. All of this happened during the Great Depression, when people in general had very little money, and I'm sure, artists even less. I know that my Dad was in the habit of bartering for various items that he sold in his business, and perhaps that's where the food for paintings story originated. I do know that there was a relationship that he had with Mr. Bodwell because, as I recall, my parents came to own perhaps a half-dozen paintings.
The paintings were all of landscapes in and around Stamford. Fields and streams, woods, etc. Some were Autumn, some were Winter; all were beautifully done, oils with quite a bit of detail. Please remember that I was quite young at that time, and probably not too interested in Art!
As to the location of the paintings, other than the one that Carol has, I can only guess. The family scattered and disintegrated, and items were passed from generation to generation.
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