Woodham, Jean

Abstract Biographical and career materials, photographs, correspondence, and project records documenting the Alabama-born sculptor Jean Woodham (1925-2021), a pioneer of welded metal sculpture, and her bronze fountain sculpture Whirlwind, presented to the City of Opelika in 1977 and installed at the Opelika Public Library. The collection includes a Silvermine Guild artist biography, a curriculum vitae, a 1998 New York Times review, and photographs of Woodham's studio and of the sculpture Spinoff. It...

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Handwritten letter on Woodham's studio letterhead. Woodham sends photographs that are not her first choice because of the time constraint, and will send another if she gets copies later.

Scope and Contents Woodham sends her promised guest list of eleven entries for the luncheon, with addresses and notes on each, including James Blumgarten (typed "Baumgarten"), "a writer I am bringing home to meet my family"; her daughter Elizabeth Caraway of Atlanta; her brothers John W. Woodham of Montgomery and Marcus M. Woodham of Ansley; John and Alice McClelland; several Auburn faculty; and Mr. and Mrs. Charles Fleming of Geneva, "best friends from my home town." She suggests a five-dollar donation per...

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Handwritten letter to "Aileen." Woodham delayed her thanks until she could promise the portfolio, which has arrived and will be photographed within about a month; no price has been set. The joy of the dedication day has not diminished. She remarks that corporations searching for women with executive ability need only look to garden clubs, and thanks Samford for her hospitality. She expects to be married in January, and gives her own and Jim's telephone numbers.

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Woodham apologizes to Peacock and his committee for not sending the promised sculpture sketches. She is working to reach the halfway point and payment on another commission in case the city defaults, and the sketches remain "in and on my mind." She offers to understand if the committee would rather not wait. Lancaster and Lancaster received stamp, November 19, 1975.

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Woodham reports she is still at work on her New York commission, likely Scholar's Sphere, and expects to finish in September. She asks whether the library building was dedicated on schedule and requests photographs of the building and the site. Lancaster and Lancaster received stamp, August 12, 1976.

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Woodham is pleased that the committee chose the model everyone in her studio preferred. She plans to ship the first week of August but makes no firm promises, since a previous commission was delayed by a flu epidemic, a Teamsters strike, and a UPS strike. She will send a template for placement and anchoring. Lancaster and Lancaster received stamp, May 17, 1977.

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Black-and-white photograph of Jean Woodham kneeling on her studio floor in a welding helmet and glasses, working on curved bronze segments of a sculpture, possibly Whirlwind, with an Airco welder, gas cylinder, and power tools around her. The print has yellowish spotting across its surface. Photographer unknown.

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Black-and-white photograph of Jean Woodham's bronze fountain sculpture Whirlwind, shown with the central water column running and the large upper crescent curving to the left, on a round clear base. Probably among the photographs exchanged among Woodham, Aileen Samford, and the Alabama State Council on the Arts and Humanities in August 1977 (see OPL010_022, OPL010_008, and OPL010_021). Photographer unknown.

Scope and Contents

Black-and-white photograph of Jean Woodham's bronze fountain sculpture Whirlwind, shown with the central water column running and the large upper crescent rising to the right, on a round clear base. Probably among the photographs exchanged among Woodham, Aileen Samford, and the Alabama State Council on the Arts and Humanities in August 1977 (see OPL010_022, OPL010_008, and OPL010_021). Photographer unknown.