Creator story
Surprising fact
The stern pair in American Gothic were modelled by Wood's sister and his dentist — and they are father and daughter, not husband and wife.
Source: Wikipedia / WikimediaAmerican Realism
Grant Wood
Grant Wood (1891–1942) was a leading American Regionalist, celebrating the rural Midwest in crisp, stylised detail. His American Gothic is one of the most parodied images in American culture.
Wood helped define a homegrown American art, independent of European modernism.
- Painted American Gothic, an icon endlessly parodied ever since.
- Championed Regionalism, celebrating the rural American Midwest.
- Modelled his famous couple on his sister and his dentist.
Key works
A key work by Grant Wood
These works make it easiest to see how the artist changed form, content, and the very way art could exist in culture.
1930
American Gothic
American Gothic is a 1930 oil painting on beaverboard by the American Regionalist artist Grant Wood, depicting a Midwestern farmer and his wife or daughter standing in front of their Carpenter Gothic style home. It is one of the most famous American paintings of the 20th century and is frequently referenced in popular culture.