Grant Wood, An American Gothic

In making these paintings, as you may have guessed, I had in mind something which I hope to convey to a fairly wide audience in America -- the picture of a country rich in the arts of peace; a homely lovable nation, infinitely worth any sacrifice necessary to its preservation. - Grant Wood

Grant Wood, an American “Regionalist” painter, known for his paintings depicting the Midwestern rural life. Best known for his 1930 painting, American Gothic , it first exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1930. Since then, it has been subjected to an endless stream of satire, use in advertisements and cartoons. The original work can still be seen at the Art Institute.

The portrait of the somber Midwestern farmer is often misinterpreted. The woman is not the man's wife but his unmarried daughter destined to stay on the farm to assist and care for her widowed father.

Models for the farmer and his spinster daughter were Wood’s dentist, Dr Bryon McKeeby, and his sister, Nan Wood Graham. Each element was painted separately; the models sat separately and never stood in front of the house.

The cottage in the background is an example of Gothic Revival, Carpenter Gothic or Rural Gothic, a North American architectural style. It is located in Eldon, Iowa.

Art critics continue to debate the meaning of the painting. Initially, it was assumed the painting was a satire of the repression and narrow-mindedness of small-town life and rural America. The Depression era brought about a reversal of thought; it was meant to depict the American pioneering spirit of perseverance. The debate among art critics continues today.

He was born Feb. 13, 1891, near Anamosa, Iowa. His father, a farmer, died in 1901. The family moved to Cedar Rapids. There he took drawing lessons from local artists and attended high school. In 1913, while working as a silversmith in Chicago, he attended night classes at the Art Institute.

During World War I he made clay models of field gun positions and helped camouflage artillery pieces while working in Washington, DC. He returned to Iowa to teach in Cedar Rapids, then left for Europe in 1923. Following two years in Europe, he returned to Iowa and began painting pictures of workers at a dairy equipment and manufacturing plant in Cedar Rapids. His paintings began to sell, however to supplement his income he decorated house interiors.

In 1927 Wood received a commission for a stained-glass window for the Cedar Rapids City Hall memorializing World War I veterans. To learn stained glass technique, he returned to Europe. While there, he also studied the work of the 15th-century French and German primitive painters and began to work in the style he is known for today. Among his many jobs, he taught at the State University of Iowa, was director of Iowa’s WPA arts projects and continued to paint portraits.

On February 12, 1942, one day before his 51st birthday, Wood died in Iowa City at University Hospital.