Shortly after graduating, Woodrow became ill and returned to his parents' home in Chapel Allerton, where he would remain for much of his life.
As part of a clearance of the artist's house, his extensive collection of art books were bought by a local bookshop.
On a follow-up visit to the bookshop Stewart bought the remaining books with drawings and visited the artists house the following day, where he discovered a vast collection of previously unseen paintings and drawings spanning a period of more than fifty years.
Woodrow occasionally worked on unusual materials – some oil paintings were produced on improvised canvasses of hessian from coal sacks, or cardboard boxes.
A play based on the artist's life story was produced by Liz Postlethwaite and successfully toured the North of England in 2013.