"American Gothic is one of the most recognizable and most quoted in the history of painting (at least in modern times). Worth mentioning, that antique valuations of its author pieces are reaching up to millions of dollars. And no, “American gothic” is not one of these antique paintings for sale! Meanwhile, in the United States Grant Wood to this day remains one of the most loved and revered artists especially amongst people eager to buy really significant antique paintings. And nowadays, antique dealers that buy vintage paintings respect him not only for his American Gothic.

The heyday of Grant Wood's popularity came during the years of the Great Depression, and it began with American Gothic. Before 1930, when "American Gothic" was painted, Wood was a little-known artist from Iowa who painted not particularly already current impressionist landscapes inspired by French masters. The Whitney Museum's exhibition "Grant Wood: American Gothic and Other Stories" covers all periods of the artist's work: it includes his early decorative works, oil paintings in the Impressionist and post-Impressionist styles, famous mature canvases, murals, works on paper and book illustrations. This is not only Wood's first museum retrospective in New York since 1983 but also only the third outside the Midwest since 1935.

What was Grant Wood like?

^{Grant Wood. 1932. Self-portrait.Source: Wikipedia}

Grant Wood believed that a person is shaped psychologically during the first 12 years of life and that everything he experiences later is related to those childhood years. He often said that memories of the early years spent on the family farm in Iowa were "clearer to him than anything that came after." Not surprisingly, his works, written in his mature years, depict not Midwestern farm life in the 1930s, but idealized memories of the 1890s. And there’s why.

Grant had been painfully shy, withdrawn, and unsociable all his life. The taboo on "fiction" was imposed by his farmer father, a stern and uncompromising man, a staunch Quaker. But even strict father could not discourage Wood from drawing. Meanwhile, his mother, on a contrary, was a very important person in Grant Wood's life and a close friend. Wood and his mother were sometimes mistaken for a married couple. Also, a special place in Grant Wood's life and work was held by his sister Nan.

Wood’s career

Early in his career, Grant Wood, like many American artists, was convinced that real art could only be found in Europe. The artist soon came to the idea that American art should go its way, not copying or following European art. He was convinced that American artists should draw on the rich local culture and special character of their native places in their work.

He believed that art should be timeless, so he depicted types rather than personalities. And one day, after stumbling upon an unusual Gothic-style house during his way in Iowa he wondered what kind of people might live there. That’s how the farmer and his daughter came to be. It was this kinship insisted on by the artist's sister Nan Wood, who had modeled for the heroine of the painting and had been upset by criticism - they called her old and ugly.

Grant Wood's sharp, nuanced style and his nostalgic subjects made him one of America's most revered artists in the 1930s, and he had many followers and imitators across the country, so those who up to buying antique oil paintings better to take a closer look after seeing “his” work. Experts in selling antiques can estimate his original work to be worth millions of dollars!

Soon, however, the artist became concerned about the fate of democracy.

Wood feared that America might be vulnerable to the possible aggression of the fascism that was gaining strength in Europe and decided to use his work to raise the national pride of his fellow citizens. To this end, Wood planned to write a series of works based on American tales and famous legends, emphasizing their fictionalization to avoid chauvinism.

^{Grant Wood. Spring in the Country. 1941. Source: iowasource}

In this series, the artist managed to produce only two paintings ("Spring in the Country" and "Spring in the City") before pancreatic cancer claimed his life two hours before his 51st birthday.

^{Cover image: Grant Wood. American Gothic. 1930. Source: Wikipedia}