Grant Wood

Today is the birthday of a great Iowa Boy, Grant Wood. His most famous painting is American Gothic. This painting is probably 1 of the most reproduced & parodied works of art in existence. It has been used to sell corn flakes, it was spoofed in everything from The Simpsons to The Rocky Horror Picture Show. There was even a nod to it in another Iowa Boy's movie version of his musical, Meredith Willson's The Music Man. The painting represents an Iowa farmer & his daughter standing in front of their house. (Wood's dentist, Dr. Byron McKeeby & his sister Nan Wood Graham, the house is in Eldon, IA) . In 1996 the United States Postal System issued a stamp to honor Iowa's Sesquicentennial featuring a portion of his work Young Corn. & 3 of the 5 finalists for the design of the Iowa Quarter were based on Grant Wood's paintings. The winning quarter, Foundation in Education was based on his painting Arbor Day. The other 2 designs included 1 based on American Gothic & Beautiful Land based on Young Corn. (The other 2 deigns were 1 honoring Waterloo's 5 Sullivan Brothers & Feeding the World featuring Iowa's main agricultural produce; corn, pigs, cattle & soybeans.)

So who was Grant Wood?

Grant Wood was born on this day in 1891 on a farm near Anamosa, IA. In 1901 after the death of his father the family moved to Cedar Rapids. While there he apprenticed at a local metal shop. He also worked designing scenery for his school's theater & did drawings for the school yearbook. He also volunteered for the Cedar Rapids Art Association. In 1910 he graduated from Washington High School & moved to Minneapolis, MN to attend art school. In 1911 he returned home to teach. In 1913 he went to Chicago to attend the Art Institute of Chicago. He also worked at Kalo Silversmith Shop. After a stint in the army (1917-1918) as a camouflage painter, he again returned to CR to teach art at Jackson Jr. High.

Between 1920 & 1928 he made 4 trips to Europe to study art. He looked at modern trends but focused on Impressionist & Post-Impressionist styles. His 1st trip was made with his close friend from his high school days, Marvin Cone. His 1928 trip was to Munich where he supervised the making of a stained glass window he designed for the Veterans Memorial Building in CR. (Picture of window here.). This is 1 of the largest From 1924 to 1934 he lived in the 2nd floor of a 19th century carriage house where he also had a studeo. Since it had no address he gave it 1, 5 Turner Alley. It was here that he painted American Gothic. He named the place after its owners, John B. Turner, founder of Turner Mortuary in CR, & his son David Turner who were also his patrons.

In 1932 he co-founded The Stone City Art Colony and School near Stone City, IA, along the Wapsipinicon River, to help struggling artists during the Great Depression. In 1933 he is appointed head of the Iowa Division of the Public Works of Art project. Many public buildings & post offices have murals that were done by Stone City artists as a result of this appointment. In 1934 he began teaching art at the University of Iowa's Art School. In 1935 he married Sara Sherman Maxon. The marriage lasted 3 years. He died in 1942 on 12 February at University Hospital in Iowa City, 1 day short of his 51st birthday. He is buried at Riverside Cemetary in Anamosa.

Grant Wood's style is a prime example of the American style known as regionalism. & while he is primarily known for his oil paintings his work encompasses much more than that. He also worked in ink, charcoal, ceramics, metal, wood. There are many prints of the series of lithographs he did. & of course the above mentioned stained glass window.

Much of Grant Wood's work captures the heart & soul of Iowa. This is true not only of the time he did them, it continues to be exemplary of the spirit of Iowa to this day. I would highly recomend checking out any of the places listed below. While the photographic reproductions are OK, they pale in comparison with the actual experience of his works.

Iowa has 2 museums with excellent collections of Grant Wood's works. Here in DBQ , the Dubuque Museum of Art has a permanent exhibit, 1 of the largest collections of his various works. Another Iowa museum that has a large collection is the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art. It also operates 5 Turner Alley, his home & studio while he lived in Cedar Rapids. Their collection includes Young Corn. & naturally, his birthplace of Anamosa has The Grant Wood Art Gallery with another fine collection of his works. Every year the have a Grant Wood Art Festival.

Photo of Grant Wood, Grant Wood Art Gallery
American Gothic, 1930, oil on beaverboard, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago
Iowa Sesquicentennial Stamp, 1st Day of Issue 1 August 1996, Dubuque, IA, U.S. Postal Service
Young Corn, 1931, oil on masonite, On loan from the Cedar Rapids Iowa Community School District Collection to the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art
Iowa State Quarter (reverse), Released 30 August 2004, U.S. Mint

Info for this post was taken primarily from Grant Wood's entry in Wikipedia & the CR Museum of Art website.