A character study of a man and a woman portrayed in front of a home, American Gothic, a 1930 painting by Grant Wood, is one of the most famous American paintings of the 20th century, and has been widely parodied in the popular culture.
It all started when Wood was out driving and saw the house. He was inspired to paint what is now known as the American Gothic House in Eldon, Iowa, along with "the kind of people [he] fancied should live in that house". (The painting's name is in fact a word play on the house's architectural style, Carpenter Gothic.)
The painting depicts a farmer standing beside his daughter – often mistakenly assumed to be his wife. The woman is dressed in a colonial print apron evoking 20th-century rural Americana while the man is dressed in overalls covered by a suit jacket and, for whatever reason, carries a pitchfork.
The figures were modelled by Wood's sister Nan Wood Graham and their dentist Dr Byron McKeeby.
The doctor’s likeness is pretty damn good but Wood elongated his sister’s face because she didn’t want to be recognisable in it. After the painting of her became famous, Grant made it up to her by painting a much more flattering portrait.
The painting won third prize in a contest at the Art Institute of Chicago, who also bought it for US$300, and still have it in their collection. The image soon began to be reproduced in newspapers, first by the Chicago Evening Post, and then in New York, Boston, Kansas City and Indianapolis. However, when the image finally appeared in the Cedar Rapids Gazette, there was a backlash. Iowans were furious at their depiction as "pinched, grim-faced, puritanical Bible-thumpers".
However, with the deepening of the Great Depression not too long after the painting was made, American Gothic came to be seen as a depiction of the steadfast American pioneer spirit.
The ambiguity of the painting’s intent is one of its charms. Gertrude Stein, for one, thought it was a “devastating satire”. Wood himself has admitted there was satire in it but he also liked to see himself, possibly satirically, as a kind of gentleman farmer. He was quoted in this period as stating: “All the good ideas I've ever had came to me while I was milking a cow."
American Gothic is a frequently parodied image. It has been lampooned in movies such as The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and television shows such as Green Acres (where it is celebrated in the opening credits), The Simpsons, SpongeBob SquarePants, and the opening sequence of King of the Hill. The painting famously also appears in the opening titles of the television show Desperate Housewives (2004–2012).
American Gothic has also been parodied in marketing campaigns, and is paid homage in countless online memes. Some things just resonate, and it’s not always easy to figure out why!
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Story Idea: Bonnie Siegler
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References
wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Gothic
Images
1. Grant Wood’s sister, Nan Wood Graham, and his dentist, Byron McKeeby, stand by the painting for which they had posed, American Gothic. Cedar Rapids Public Library, September 1942. Photograph courtesy Figge Art Museum, City of Davenport Art Collection, Grant Wood Archive.
2. American Gothic by Grant Wood, 1930. Image credit: Google Art Project.
3. The Dibble House in Eldon, Iowa aka American Gothic house
4. Grant Wood, Self-portrait, 1932, Figge Art Museum
5. Makeup Portrait of Nan by Grant Wood, 1933
6. Nancy and Ron Regan parody, 1983. Credit: Alfred Gescheidt.
7. Muppets American Gothic
8. Video: Green Acres (1965–1971) opening sequence
9. Australian Gothic: Peter Dutton and Gina Rinehart. Credit: Jacob Perry via Facebook.
