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Wednesday, November 21, 2012

American Gothic - VBR

It's time for letter A - again!  

My letter A choice is for the painting by Grant Wood entitled American Gothic.  You may not know the name but once you see the picture you recognize it.  American Gothic is considered one of the most famous painting in American art.   It is also one of a handful of paintings that are considered universal icons.  It shares this honor with other paintings such as DaVinci's Mona Lisa, Van Gogh's Sunflowers, and Munch's The Scream.
The painting portrays a farmer and his spinster daughter standing in front of their home which is designed in the Gothic Revival style.  

The models for the painting are Grant's sister Nan, and Grant's dentist, Dr. Bryan McKeeby. Nan insisted that the woman in the painting be identified as the farmer's daughter because she did not want anyone to think she was as old as the male figure!

While some felt the painting has a bit of parody or satire to it, Grant, in fact, felt his subjects depicted the hard working  ethic of the midwestern people,  represented by the apron she wears and the pitchfork he holds.

Here are several of his other portraits - 


The Appraisal

Seth Wider

Daughters of the American Revolution

But, in doing a little searching for the pic of American Gothic, I came across a series of paintings, landscapes, done by Wood that I just fell in love with.  They are so modern looking, like cutting edge retro (is this even a valid label?).  I love the overhead view of these pieces, like th viewer is a bird in the sky.
I have to say, I enjoyed discovering Wood's landscape works. 


 
Midnight Ride of Paul Revere

Arbor Day


Near Sundown 


Today's letter A for Alphabe-Thursday is brought to you by Jenny Matlock, who welcomes new members. You can join by clicking on the link at the right! 

17 comments:

  1. Great post for the a new Alphabet round. I like those painting too, but I thought the daughter was the farmer's wife...Sh....don't tell :-)

    Happy Thanksgiving..

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  2. What a great choice for the letter A. Grant Wood was from Iowa, and I always think I want to go visit the home from the painting, but I haven't made it there yet. Of course, I also want to do a parody of the painting with my goats...

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  3. I like Grant Wood's work and especially American Gothic. One of my friends had a photograph of her and her husband taken to mimic American Gothic for a party invitation. It was really cool...

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  4. Mumsy - I also thought it was his wife, but, no, evidently she is his 'spinster' daughter.

    EdenHills - according to what I have read, this portrait is one of the most parodied images in art. Personally, I think your little goats would look FABU as the American Goathic (haha, couldn't resist!)

    Rocky Mtn.Woman - yes, I have to say, I also like his work very much. I like that modern look it has to it, (well, modern for the time they were painted.


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  5. Many thanks for stopping by my blog!

    Such an interesting *A* post – have always admired American Gothic - and yes, it has an undeniable modern feel to it!

    PS Happy Thanksgiving!

    Visiting from Alphabe-Thursday

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  6. Oh I love the landscapes with their bird's eye views! I was only familiar with American Gothic -- though I think I would have chosen to be his wife, rather than his spinster daughter!!

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  7. Evidently, she did not want to be identified as someone old enough to be the dentist's wife (the man who posed for the farmer!). I think may she had better not have used him as a dentist after that!

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  8. Interesting post! I love that last landscape the most....the colors are just wonderful! :)

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  11. Hi B.B. ~~ I hope that you had a nice Thanksgiving.

    My sister lives near Grant Wood's birthplace, Anamosa, Iowa. While visiting her I have also visited Anamosa a few times. I have two blogs about items I found interesting in Anamosa, Iowa (Jim's Anamosa, Iowa, visits blog report (link)).

    We drove past Wood's birthplace but did not go in. There was quite a bit to see on the grounds.

    I like his 'Arbor Day' painting the best. The school house portrayed is built like the one I attended for grades 1-8. And we students also planted trees on Arbor day.
    ..

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  12. I find it interesting that his portraits seem to be done in one style, and that his landscapes are slightly different...

    Zia
    singing-blue.blogspot.ca

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  13. Very interesting information on Grant Wood. I knew of the painting but not the artist so it's nice to see some of his other work. The landscapes are my favorite, too!

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  14. I know that painting and the artist but I am not familiar with his other works. He was quite talented and he really depicted life at that time. Thanks for sharing and enjoy your week!

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  15. Oh, I adore this post!

    I'm intriqued by the difference in style between portrait and landscape!

    And I didn't even know he painted landscapes!

    This was informative and wonderful!

    I feel quite inspired by the story and the work!

    Thanks for sharing it.

    A+

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  16. Dear VBR

    I simply love this posting which i accidentally came upon while reading about American Gothic. In fact i have a post card size reproduction of this Painting gifted to me by one of my European friends long long years before which i used in one of my collage.
    It is so nice of you to educate people like us sitting in India's far south [Tamil Nadu state - Chennai city] to understand and appreciate the works of celebrated Artist Grant Wood.

    Salaam to you.
    Thanks and good luck
    God Bless

    Kasturi G
    from Chennai - India

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  17. Dear VBR

    I simply love this posting which i accidentally came upon while reading about American Gothic. In fact i have a post card size reproduction of this Painting gifted to me by one of my European friends long long years before which i used in one of my collage.
    It is so nice of you to educate people like us sitting in India's far south [Tamil Nadu state - Chennai city] to understand and appreciate the works of celebrated Artist Grant Wood.

    Salaam to you.
    Thanks and good luck
    God Bless

    Kasturi G
    from Chennai - India

    ReplyDelete