Philip Russell GOODWIN
1881–1935, USA

Goodwin was born in Norwich, CT, on 16 September 1881. During his childhood, his family took regular camping vacations in Maine; he also spent hours absorbing the work of Frederic Remington (qv) and other magazine illustrators, and drawing on his own. He studied at the Rhode Island School of Design in his early teens, then in 1898 with Howard Pyle (qv) at the Drexel Institute in Philadelphia, PA. He also attended Pyle's lectures at the Art Students League of New York in New York City in 1904 and studied at Pyle's schools in Chadds Ford, PA, and Wilmington, DE, where he worked with N. C. Wyeth (qv) and Frank Schoonover (qv). At the turn of the century, with Pyle's encouragement, he began submitting illustrations to magazine and book publishers. He met with almost immediate success, specializing in big game hunting, shooting, fishing, and Western scenes. He first rose to national prominence with his illustrations for Jack London's The Call of the Wild; Charles Livingston Bull's (qv) work also appeared in the book, but Goodwin's paintings and drawings had been done especially for it and received pride of place. He moved to New York City after the book's release in 1903 in order to be closer to the publishing industry. During this period he also modeled a few small animal sculptures. His Bear was cast in bronze during his lifetime, and figures of bears and big cats were cast after his death.

Goodwin met the noted Western painter and sculptor Charles Marion Russell (qv) while the latter was spending a few months in New York City in 1903. Russell was essentially self-taught and seventeen years Goodwin's senior, but he gained considerable benefit from Goodwin's advice on style and technique. Goodwin's influence is credited with helping to assure the high quality of Russell's work The two artists remained friends, and Goodwin later illustrated a book about Russell. He first traveled to the West in 1905. He spent the summer of 1907 with Russell in Great Falls, MT, and near Lake MacDonald in the northwestern part of the state. He and Russell both began working with the calendar and print publishers Brown & Bigelow of St. Paul, MN, in 1908. Later trips West included another stay at Russell's cabin on Lake MacDonald and a hunting trip in Alberta, Canada, with Carl Rungius (qv) in 1911. In 1912 he settled in Mamaroneck, NY, where he lived and worked for more than twenty years.

Goodwin's pictures appeared in such periodicals as Outer's Recreation, Outdoor Life, The Saturday Evening Post, McClure's, and Everybody's Magazine. He also illustrated advertising calendars for Winchester Arms, whose horse and rider logo he also designed, and Remington Arms, as well as advertisements for other firearm and sporting goods companies. Although he never went to Africa, Theodore Roosevelt commissioned him to illustrate African Game Trails in 1910 after becoming familiar with his magazine and advertising illustrations of big game animals.

Goodwin exhibited in New York City at several prominent galleries; he also showed his Bull Moose at the American Watercolor Society in New York City in 1909 and the Art Institute of Chicago in 1910. The Glenbow Museum in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, has his Rutting Season: Bison and the Minneapolis (MN) Institute of the Arts has his A "Bear" Chance. A Chance Shot is at the Denver (CO) Art Museum. Other institutions holding his work include the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, WY; the Charles M. Russell Museum in Great Falls, MT; the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, OK; and the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth, TX.

Goodwin died in Maramoneck, NY, on 14 December 1935.

Source: http://www.redfoxfineart.com