How a House Inspired American Gothic, a Modernist Painting
A Modernist Masterpiece.
American Gothic is a 1930 painting by Grant Wood in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Wood was inspired to paint what is now known as the American Gothic House in Eldon, Iowa, along with the kind of people he thought should live in that house.
The painting shows a farmer standing beside his daughter.
Who was Grant DeVolson Wood?
On a day like today, American painter and academic Grant Wood was born.
February 13, 1891.
Grant DeVolson Wood born in Anamosa, Iowa. February 13, 1891 — February 12, 1942).
He was an American painter best known for his paintings of the rural American Midwest, particularly American Gothic, an iconic painting of the 20th century.
Though he spent much of his childhood in this rural town, Wood moved many times during his formative years.
Wood frequently traveled abroad. Between 1922 and 1928, he visited Europe four times, where he developed a devoted appreciation for the…
