John Woods is a Denver-based American still life painter working in oil and acrylic at monumental scale.
His large-format paintings—works reaching seven feet—place him in the lineage of American still life masters like Raphaelle Peale, William Harnett, and John Peto, who elevated humble objects through obsessive optical precision. Woods paints flowers in vintage American containers—Folgers cans, Ball jars, McCormick tins—treating these vernacular objects with the same scrutiny Dutch masters gave to silver and porcelain.
Woods’ understanding of museum-quality work was shaped during formative years assisting with one of the significant private collections of postwar American and contemporary art—a collection that contributed to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and Harvard Art Museums. Working directly with works by Calder, Cornell, Close, Frankenthaler, de Kooning, Pollock, Kandinsky, and Thiebaud provided hands-on understanding of craft, scale, and institutional standards.
Woods has maintained a dedicated painting practice for over three decades. His work is held in private collections across the United States, including families associated with major museum institutions such as the Denver Art Museum, and work formerly in the collection of Ginny Williams, one of contemporary art’s most influential collectors and advocates.
Woods’ work has been featured at the Coors Western Art Show and in publications including Southwest Art, Colorado Homes & Lifestyles, and Colorado Expression Magazine.
