Art Appreciation

You may not recognize the name of this masterpiece, but I'm sure you've seen the side by side portrait. "American Gothic" was painted by Grant Wood in 1930. The actual house is located in Eldon, Iowa.

Wood wanted to depict the traditional roles of men and women as the man is holding a pitchfork symbolizing hand labor. Wood placed plants behind the woman to convey the image of a domestic housewife, though the artist had intended her to represent the farmer's unmarried daughter.

The models for the famous portrait of a farmer with a pitchfork and his unmarried daughter were Wood's dentist, Dr. Byron McKeeby, and Wood's sister, Nan. The original "American Gothic" hangs today in the Art Institute of Chicago.

It is one of the most reproduced and parodied painting ever. Many artists have replaced the two people with other known couples and replaced the house with well known houses.