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Picture at Chicago Art Institute of Couple in Front of Mid Century House in California
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American Gothic
Paradigm actions
American Gothic
Date:
1930
Artist:
Grant Wood American, 1891–1942
Almost this artwork
In American Gothic, Grant Wood directly evoked images of an earlier generation by featuring a farmer and his daughter posed stiffly and dressed as if they were, equally the artist put it, "tintypes from my sometime family album." They stand up outside of their home, built in an 1880s style known as Carpenter Gothic. Wood had seen a similar farmhouse during a visit to Eldon, Iowa.
When it was exhibited at the Art Institute in 1930, the painting became an instant sensation, its ambiguity prompting viewers to speculate near the figures and their story. Many understood the work to be a satirical comment on midwesterners out of step with a modernizing world. Yet Wood intended it to convey a positive image of rural American values, offering a vision of reassurance at the showtime of the Great Depression.
Status
On View, Gallery 263
Section
Arts of the Americas
Artist
Grant Wood
Championship
American Gothic
Place
U.s.a. (Object made in)
Date
1930
Medium
Oil on Beaver Board
Inscriptions
Signed and dated lower right on overalls: GRANT / WOOD / 1930
Dimensions
78 × 65.3 cm (30 iii/iv × 25 3/four in.)
Credit Line
Friends of American Art Drove
Reference Number
1930.934
Extended information about this artwork
"Prize Awards in the Annual American Exhibition," Bulletin of the Art Establish of Chicago 24, no. 9 (December 1930): 120.
Bulletin of the Art Institute of Chicago 25, no. ii (February 1931): comprehend (sick.), eight, 25.
"Loans to Other Museums and Institutions," Bulletin of the Art Institute of Chicago: Report for the Year 1931, 26 no. two (Feb 1932): 70.
"Loans to Other Museums and Institutions," Bulletin of the Art Institute of Chicago: Study for the Twelvemonth 1933 28, no. iii (Mar 1934): 71, 73.
"Loans to Other Museums and Institutions," Message of the Art Institute of Chicago: Report for the Year 1934 29, no. 3 (Mar 1935): 72.
"Loans to Other Museums and Institutions," Message of the Art Plant of Chicago: Report for the Year 1935 30, no. iii (Mar 1936): 68.
Frederick A. Sweet, "Half a Century of American Art," Bulletin of the Art Institute of Chicago 33, no. 6 (No 1939): 97.
Anita Brenner, "Is There An American Art?," The New York Times Magazine (November 23, 1941), ill. p. 13.
Frederick S. Wight, Milestones of American Painting in Our Century, introduction by Lloyd Goodrich (Boston: The Found of Gimmicky Art with Chanticleer Press, New York, 1949), 30, 74, sick. pl. 21, 75.
Aline B. Louchheim, "A New Yorker Visits the Fine art Establish," The Art Institute of Chicago Quarterly 46, no. two (Apr 1, 1952): 23.
"People and Events: Portraits on Tv set," The Art Institute of Chicago Quarterly 50, no. 2 (April one, 1956): 39.
Henri Dorra, The American Muse (Viking Press, 1961), 124, ill. p. 156.
"Summertime Gallery Talks," Calendar of the Art Establish of Chicago 65, no. 3 (May–Aug 1971): 18.
"Lecturer's Choice: Fifteen Minute Gallery Talks for Summertime," Bulletin of the Art Institute of Chicago 67, no. 3 (May-Jun 1973): 11.
Matthew Baigell, The American Scene: American Painting of the 1930s (Praeger Publishers, 1974), 18, 109, 110, 111, sick. 1, 12.
"Public Lectures," Bulletin of the Fine art Institute of Chicago 69, no. four (Jul–Aug 1975): viii.
"Public Lectures," Bulletin of the Fine art Institute of Chicago 73, no. 5/half-dozen (Sep–December 1979): 14.
Wanda Corn, "The painting that became a symbol of a nation's spirit," Smithsonian 11, 8 (Nov 1980), 84–96, ill. p. 85.
Wanda Thousand. Corn, Grant Wood: The Regionalist Vision, exh. cat. (Minneapolis Institute of Arts/Yale University Press, 1982), 3, 25–26, 33, 35, threescore, 128–142, pl. 32.
Wanda M. Corn, "The Birth of a National Icon: Grant Forest's American Gothic," The Art Constitute of Chicago Centennial Lectures, Museum Studies 10 (Art Constitute of Chicago/Contemporary Books, Inc., 1983), 253–275, fig. 1.
Davenport Museum of Art, IA, Grant Woods: An American Main Revealed (Davenport Museum of Art/Pomegranate Books, 1995), 24, 69–73, 96–98, cat. sixteen, pl. xvi.
Art Institute of Chicago, The Art Constitute of Chicago: Twentieth–Century Painting and Sculpture, selected by James North. Wood and Teri J. Edelstein (Art Institute of Chicago, 1996), 67, sick.
James M. Dennis, Renegade Regionalists: The Modern Independence of Grant Forest, Thomas Hart Benton, and John Steuart Curry (University of Wisconsin Press, 1998), xiv, 19–xx, 100–02, fig. vii.
Lea Rosson DeLong, Grant Wood'south Main Street: Fine art, Literature and the American Midwest, exh. cat. (Ames, Iowa: Brunnier Fine art Museum, University Museums, 2004), 17–18, 24, 27–29, 39, 97, 104, 106, 159, 203, 205, 207, fig. 12.
Thomas Hoving, American Gothic: The Biography of Grant Wood'due south American Masterpiece (Chamberlain Bros., 2005).
Stephen Biel, American Gothic: A Life of America'south Near Famous Painting (West.Due west. Norton & Co., 2005).
Sue Taylor, "Grant Wood's Family unit Album," American Fine art 19, two (Summer 2005): 48–67.
Judith A. Castling et al., American Modernism at the Fine art Institute of Chicago, From Earth War I to 1955, (Chicago: Fine art Found of Chicago/Yale University Press, 2009), cat. 79.
Laura Hoptman, "Wyeth: Christina's World," One on Ane (The Museum of Modern Art, 2012), 4 (ill.).
Chantal Georgel, "Millet," (Citadelles et Mazenod, 2014), (ill.).
Paintings at the Art Found of Chicago: Highlights of the Drove (Chicago: Fine art Institute of Chicago/Yale University Press, 2017), 123.
Judith A. Barter, "Prolog: Ein neue Welt der Kunst," in Es war einmal in Amerika – 300 Jahre US-amerikanische Kunst [Once Upon a Time in America: 3 Centuries of American Art], eds. Barbara Schaefer and Anita Hachmann (Cologne: Wallraf-Richartz-Museum & Fondation Corboud/Wienand Verlag, 2018), 24, fig. 10 (ill.).
Andrew Graham-Dixon, "'American Gothic' — Grant Wood'south Midwestern mystery," Christie'south, Oct 22, 2019, https://www.christies.com/features/American-Gothic-A-Midwestern-mystery-10143-1.aspx, (sick.).
Marta Ruiz del Arbol, ed., Georgia O'Keeffe, exh. cat. (Madrid: Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, 2021), 66–67, fig. 45 (ill).
Sarah Rose Sharp, "How Grant Wood's 'American Gothic' Continues to Inspire Artists," Hyperallergic, Mar. 30, 2022, https://hyperallergic.com/719745/how-grant-forest-american-gothic-continues-to-inspire-artists, (ill.).
Art Institute of Chicago, The Forty–third Annual Exhibition of American Paintings and Sculpture, Oct 30–December 14, 1930, cat. 207, ill.
Cedar Rapids, IA, Feb 1931.
Buffalo Fine Arts Academy, Albright Art Gallery, Twenty–Fifth Almanac Exhibition of Selected Paintings past American Artists, April 26–Jun 22, 1931, cat. 139, ill. p. 26.
San Diego Fine Art Gallery, Show of Gimmicky Eastern Painting [probably], c. Jun 1932, no cat.; Santa Barbara, CA, Faulkner Memorial Fine art Gallery, c. Aug 1932.
New York, Whitney Museum of American Art, Paintings and Prints by Chicago Artists, Feb 28–Mar 30, 1933, true cat. 37, ill. frontispiece.
Art Plant of Chicago, A Century of Progress Exhibition of Paintings and Sculpture, Jun 1–Nov 1, 1933, cat. 666, pl. 92.
Washington, DC, Phillips Collection, November 1933–Feb 1934.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Museum of Art, Mar 31–Apr 10, 1934.
Art Institute of Chicago, A Century of Progress Exhibition of Paintings and Sculpture, Jun 1–Nov ane, 1934, true cat. 716.
Chicago, Lakeside Press Galleries, Loan Exhibition of Drawings and Paintings past Grant Woods, Feb–Mar 1935, true cat. 33, ill. p. 23.
New York, Ferargil Galleries, An Exhibition of Paintings and Drawings by Grant Wood, Mar–April 1935, cat. 15.
Kansas City, MO, William R. Nelson Gallery, October 2–Nov 8, 1935.
Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, The Centennial Exposition, Jun six–Nov 29, 1936, true cat. xv, ill. p. 64.
Chicago Woman'south Society, Jan twenty, 1937.
Bloomington, IL, Central Illinois Art Exposition, Mar nineteen–Apr 8, 1939, true cat. 106, sick. p. 29.
Iowa City, Fine Arts Festival, Iowa Wedlock Lounge, University of Iowa, Exhibition of Paintings by Grant Forest and Marvin D. Cone, Jul 16–23, 1939, cat. 23.
Fine art Constitute of Chicago, Half a Century of American Art, Nov 16, 1939–Jan seven, 1940, cat. 178, pl. 46.
Bloomfield Hills, MI, Cranbrook Academy of Fine art, May 17–Jun vi, 1940.
Northampton, MA, Smith Higher Museum of Art, American Art: Aspects of American Painting, 1900–1940, Jun 12–22, 1940, cat. 33.
Worcester Art Museum, A Decade of American Painting 1930–1940, Feb xviii–Mar 22, 1942, sick. p. 23.
Cedar Rapids Art Association, Grant Wood Memorial Exhibition, Sep 1–Oct 1, 1942, no true cat. Meet Cedar Rapids Gazette, ix/vi/1942.
Art Institute of Chicago, Memorial Exhibition of Paintings and Drawings past Grant Wood, included in the 50–tertiary Annual Exhibition of American Paintings and Sculpture, Oct 29–Dec 12, 1942, cat. 2, color sick. frontispiece.
New York, Museum of Mod Art, 20th Century Portraits, Dec 8, 1942–Jan 24, 1943, p. 145, ill. p. 99.
Baltimore, Physician, February 12–Mar 7, 1943.
Worcester Fine art Museum, Mar 17–Apr nineteen, 1943.
Boston, The Plant of Modern Fine art, X Americans, Oct 20–Nov 21, 1943, true cat. 29, ill.
Saginaw, MI, Saginaw Museum of Art, An Exhibition of American Painting from Colonial Times until Today, Jan x–Feb 15, 1948, cat. 71, pl. 13.
Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Famous American Paintings, Oct nine–31, 1948, n.pag., ill.
Boston, Institute of Gimmicky Fine art, Milestones of American Painting in Our Century, c. Jan 2–c. Mar 3, 1949, cat. 21.
Montreal, Canada, Mar eighteen–April xx, 1949.
Canadian National Exhibition Art Exhibit, Aug 26–Sep 10, 1949.
Beloit, WI, Beloit College, Oct 11–Nov eleven, 1949.
Dayton, OH, Dayton Art Found, The Artist and His Family, Mar 3–Apr 1950, cat. 40.
Cedar Rapids, IA, Coe College, Centennial Exhibition, May 15–Jun 9, 1952, cat. 24.
New York, Wildenstein, Landmarks in American Fine art, 1670–1950, Feb 26–Mar 28, 1953, true cat. 50, ill.
Syracuse Museum of Fine Arts, 125 Years of American Art, Sep 15–Oct 11, 1953, cat. 59, sick. p. 18.
Dubuque, IA, Dubuque Art Clan, Thirty Years of Grant Wood, Feb 15–Feb 23, 1955, true cat. nine.
Des Moines, IA, Des Moines Fine art Centre, Communicating Art from Midwest Collections: American and European Paintings and Sculpture, 1835–1955, October 13–Nov 6, 1955, cat. twenty, sick.
Davenport, IA, Davenport Municipal Art Gallery, Grant Woods and the American Scene, Feb 3–24, 1957, true cat. five, ill. p. 5.
Lake Forest, IL, Durand Art Institute, Lake Forest College, A Century Of American Painting: Masterpieces Loaned by The Art Institute of Chicago, Jun x–sixteen, 1957, cat. 24.
Brooklyn Museum of Art, Face of America: The History of Portraiture in the Us, Nov 13, 1957–Jan 26, 1958, cat. 92, fig. 41.
Washington, DC, Corcoran Gallery of Art, The American Muse: Parallel Trends in Literature and Art, Apr four–May 17, 1959, cat. 130.
Art Institute of Chicago, Art in Illinois, In Accolade of the Illinois Sesquicentennial, Jun 15–Sep 8, 1968, p. 10.
Fine art Institute of Chicago, 100 Artists, 100 Years: Alumni of the SAIC, Centennial Exhibition, Nov 23, 1979–Jan xx, 1980, cat. 112, ill. p. 35.
New York, The Whitney Museum of American Art, Grant Wood: The Regionalist Vision, Jun 16–Sep 4, 1983, cat. 25, pl. 32; Minneapolis Establish of Arts, Sep 25, 1983–Jan 1, 1984; Fine art Constitute of Chicago, Jan 21–Apr fifteen, 1984; San Francisco, Yard. H. DeYoung Memorial Museum, May 12–Aug 12, 1984.
Omaha, NE, Joslyn Art Museum, Grant Wood: An American Master Revealed, December 10, 1995–February 25, 1996, cat. 14, pl. xvi; Davenport, IA, Davenport Museum of Art, Mar 23–Sep eight, 1996; Worcester, MA, Worcester Art Museum, Oct half dozen–Dec 31, 1996.
New York, The Whitney Museum of American Art, The American Century: Fine art and Civilisation, 1900–1950, April 23–Aug 22, 1999, cat. 435, colour ill. p. 225.
Cedar Rapids, IA, Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, Grant Wood at 5 Turner Alley, Sep ten–Dec 4, 2005.
Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Establishment, Grant Wood's Studio: Birthplace of American Gothic, Mar 10–Jun 11, 2006.
Des Moines Art Middle, After Many Springs: Art in the Midwest in the 1930s, January 30–Mar 30, 2009.
Art Establish of Chicago, America After the Fall: Painting in the 1930s, Jun 5–Sep 18, 2016; Paris, Musee de 50'Orangerie, October 15, 2016–Jan 30, 2017; London, Royal University, Feb 25–Jun 4, 2017, cat. 47.
New York, Whitney Museum of American Art, Grant Wood: American Gothic and Other Fables, Mar 2-Jun 10, 2018, no true cat no., pl. 33, checklist p. 259.
The artist; sold to the Fine art Institute of Chicago, November 1930.
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