{"id":14739,"date":"2022-05-05T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-04T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbchistoryrevealed\/?post_type=purple_issue&p=14739"},"modified":"2022-05-16T10:27:48","modified_gmt":"2022-05-16T08:27:48","slug":"what-great-paintings-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbchistoryrevealed\/2022\/05\/05\/what-great-paintings-say\/","title":{"rendered":"What great paintings say"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

HISTORY OF ART<\/span><\/h4>\n\n

American Gothic <\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n

Instantly familiar and much parodied, Grant Wood\u2019s Depression-era painting leaves observers with more questions than answers<\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n

American Gothic <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n
by Grant Wood, 1930<\/h5>\n\n

\u201cAll the really good ideas I ever had came to me while I was milking a cow,\u201d reflected Grant Wood in 1936. And \u2013 whether bovine-inspired or not \u2013 arguably none of his ideas have been as good, nor had such an impact, as his 1930 work American Gothic.<\/em><\/p>\n\n

Dubbed the US answer to Mona Lisa, American Gothic <\/em>is arguably one of the most parodied artworks in the world, lampooned in films such as The Rocky Horror Picture Show, <\/em>and even starring in an episode of The Simpsons. <\/em>But what is it about this painting that has captured our imaginations for nearly a century?<\/p>\n\n

\u201cFor me, American Gothic\u2019s <\/em>appeal lies in its sense of mystery and ambiguity,\u201d says Sarah Kelly Oehler, Field-McCormick chair and curator of arts of the Americas at the Art Institute of Chicago. \u201cFrom the identity of the sitters to Wood\u2019s reasons for painting it, the work has an intriguing narrative blankness that has allowed it to be re-envisioned in so many different ways.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cWood deliberately cultivated this ambiguity \u2013 mostly because it was good publicity \u2013 staying vague as to whether the duo are husband and wife or father and daughter; it is these sorts of enduring questions that have helped drive the painting\u2019s popularity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Midwestern outrage<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

Wood painted the work in the autumn of 1930 \u2013 at the outset of the Great Depression \u2013 after being inspired by a house he had seen in Eldon, Iowa, earlier that year. As he looked at the house \u2013 an outdated building from the 1880s, built in a style known as Carpenter Gothic \u2013 Wood had tried to imagine the sort of people who might live there: \u201cAmerican Gothic people\u201d was his final conclusion. On his return home, Wood asked his sister, Nan, and his dentist to model \u2013 on separate occasions \u2013 for the piece, styling and dressing them as if they were \u201ctintypes from my old family album\u201d. Indeed, Wood instructed Nan to send away for \u201ca prim, colonial print\u201d apron and overalls from a mail order firm. The rickrack trim of Nan\u2019s apron, long out of style, was ripped from some of their mother\u2019s old dresses.<\/p>\n\n

Intriguing as it is, the painting would likely have remained relatively unknown had Wood not entered it in a competition at the Art Institute of Chicago, where, incidentally, it has hung ever since. The piece was awarded third prize, but it wasn\u2019t long before it was being picked up in the press as an exemplar of rural Iowa. And Iowans were outraged.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cThe painting sparked a huge backlash in Wood\u2019s hometown of Cedar Rapids, with many Iowans taking offence at being depicted as \u2018pinched, grim-faced, puritanical Bible-thumpers\u2019,\u201d says Oehler. \u201cLocals wrote to the press asserting that the painting was not an accurate representation of the Midwest, insisting that they had fashionable hairstyles and clothing and used modern farming techniques.\u201d One particularly incensed farmer\u2019s wife is even said to have threatened to bite off Wood\u2019s ear.<\/p>\n\n

Whether a work of satire or not \u2013 something Wood always denied \u2013 there have been countless theories about the painting over the past nine decades. To some, the unsmiling couple \u2013 exuding a formality reminiscent of 19th-century daguerreotypes \u2013 represent the grit of the pioneer spirit and a return to authentic American values. Others have been more preoccupied with their relationship. Whether he is a father or husband, the hostile stare and tightly gripped pitchfork evoke the feeling that this is a man protecting both the virtue of the woman beside him and his home.<\/p>\n\n

Concludes Oehler: \u201cFor me, who they are is not important; it\u2019s the lack of knowing that interests me. The painting\u2019s ambiguity, their blank expressions, leave it wide open to interpretation \u2013 and parody. It\u2019s a big part of why American Gothic <\/em>remains such a popular and well-known painting, even after all this time.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

<\/div>
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
1. REPEATING FORMS<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Wood uses several repeating forms in the painting, linking all the elements together: the shape of the pitchfork is duplicated in the lines of the man\u2019s overalls, and to some extent in the lines of the house. Elsewhere, the pattern of the woman\u2019s apron is the same as the fabric of the blinds at the window. The whole painting feels elongated \u2013 from the faces to the pitchfork, to the Gothic-style window.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
2. BLACK DRESS<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Some art historians believe that this is a mourning portrait, reflected in the woman\u2019s black dress and the closed blind in the window \u2013a mourning custom that had been common in 19th-century America.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
3. MASCULINE V FEMININE<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

The woman is associated with the domestic elements of the house \u2013 such as the plants and porch behind her \u2013 while the barn and pitchfork represent traditionally masculine farm labour.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n

Words: Charlotte Hodgman<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n
GET HOOKED<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

American Gothic <\/em>hangs in Gallery 263 at the Art Institute of Chicago. Visit the institute\u2019s website for more information on the painting, and how to visit: artic.edu<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n

PICTURE CREDIT: \u00a9 GRANT WOOD. AMERICAN GOTHIC, 1930. FRIENDS OF AMERICAN ART COLLECTION<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We explore the enduring mystery behind Grant Wood\u2019s American Gothic \u2013 one of the world\u2019s most parodied works of art<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":14737,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ub_ctt_via":"","purple_page_number":"62","purple_custom_meta_purple_page_number":"62","purple_seq_number":"1","purple_custom_meta_purple_seq_number":"1","purple_source_article":"article_62-1.xml","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_article":"article_62-1.xml","purple_source_issue":"June-2022","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_issue":"June-2022","purple_external_id":"June-2022-62-1","purple_custom_meta_purple_external_id":"June-2022-62-1","purple_issue_code":"|0000090397||","purple_custom_meta_purple_issue_code":"|0000090397||","purple_android_product":"com.im.historyrevealed.108","purple_custom_meta_purple_android_product":"com.im.historyrevealed.108","purple_ios_product":"com.im.historyrevealed.108","purple_custom_meta_purple_ios_product":"com.im.historyrevealed.108","purple_web_product":"","purple_custom_meta_purple_web_product":"","purple_publication_id":"a2288b80-d22c-492c-8b11-acb0804789ee","purple_migrated":"","kt_blocks_editor_width":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2022-05-13T13:41:00Z","apple_news_article-theme":"","apple_news_api_id":"8dbe41ec-485a-4dfe-8da1-115844c14d9a","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2022-05-16T08:27:55Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/Ajb5B7EhaTf6NoRFYRMFNmg","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":true,"apple_news_is_preview":true,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_article_theme":"","apple_news_sections":"[]"},"categories":[17],"tags":[55],"apple_news_notices":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/41\/2022\/05\/4d7664ae-95ce-43af-af26-3437582202a5-e1651932081780.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbchistoryrevealed\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"5","apple_news_title":""},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/41\/2022\/05\/4d7664ae-95ce-43af-af26-3437582202a5-e1651932081780.jpg",1694,1269,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/41\/2022\/05\/4d7664ae-95ce-43af-af26-3437582202a5-e1651932081780-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/41\/2022\/05\/4d7664ae-95ce-43af-af26-3437582202a5-e1651932081780-300x225.jpg",300,225,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/41\/2022\/05\/4d7664ae-95ce-43af-af26-3437582202a5-e1651932081780-768x575.jpg",768,575,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/41\/2022\/05\/4d7664ae-95ce-43af-af26-3437582202a5-e1651932081780-1024x767.jpg",800,599,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/41\/2022\/05\/4d7664ae-95ce-43af-af26-3437582202a5-e1651932081780-1536x1151.jpg",1536,1151,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/41\/2022\/05\/4d7664ae-95ce-43af-af26-3437582202a5-e1651932081780.jpg",1694,1269,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbchistoryrevealed\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"We explore the enduring mystery behind Grant Wood\u2019s American Gothic \u2013 one of the world\u2019s most parodied works of 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