05/26/2026
"My involvement with the artworks by John Douglas Woodward, the uncle of Shrine Mont’s founder, Edmund Lee Woodward, has been a great blessing to my life. I first visited Shrine Mont with a group from my church, St. Paul’s Episcopal in Charlottesville, and was amazed at the wonderful old hotel and the shrine. When I happened on Art Hall and discovered Woodward’s works there I was already working on a book about Picturesque America (D. Appleton, 1872-74) and knew of Woodward’s contributions, but I had no idea many of his drawings for that book were in scrapbooks in Art Hall. When Nellie Moomaw told me this, I was astounded. I soon met with Wilmer Moomaw, who showed me the scrapbooks and folders of drawings and put me in touch with the Shrine Mont Board and Bishop Lee.
Since then I have worked with the Art Committee, including Emma Lou Martin, Jane Reid, Barbara McMurry, Hugh White, Richard Crozier, and others. Together we raised funds for the cleaning of the more than 80 oils in Art Hall and many of the drawings, which had been organized in scrapbooks by the Rev. Woodward, but had never been exhibited.
We secured funds by contributions and painting workshops led by Emma Lou Martin, Richard Crozier, and several others, and drew attention to the works through an 1997 exhibition at UVA’s art museum (then the Bayly), curated by me and art professor Roger B. Stein.
The collection is very unusual in including hundreds of wonderful drawings for book and magazine illustrations—works which many artist/illustrators discarded once the printed illustrations had been prepared. But they have not yet been exhibited at Shrine Mont because there is no climate controlled and safe space to do so. Plans for a rebuilt Art Hall include spaces for display and storage of these important works, as well as the more than 80 oil paintings, which have all been cleaned.
I recently published a book featuring the art and letters from Woodward’s travels to the Holy Land for Appleton’s Picturesque Palestine, Sinai and Egypt in 1878 and ’79. It presents an in depth look at this talented travelling artist’s adventures when few Americans had yet visited the region. There is still much work to be done to appreciate Woodward’s work and make it accessible to all who are interested."
- Sue Rainey
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