Sketch for house in "American Gothic"

Object Details

Artist

Grant Wood, born Anamosa, IA 1891-died Iowa City, IA 1942

Gallery Label

Grant Wood's two-sided painting has a landscape on the front, and a study for the old house that appears in his well-known work, American Gothic, on the back. Widely considered a regionalist painter--depicting realistic scenes of rural and small-town America--Wood spent his early career as a decorative artist before moving to fine art in 1916. His smooth, rolling landscapes with serpentine curves evoke his early training in design. In fact, many of his works originated as abstract patterns that evolved into real-life scenes once the artist was satisfied with the arrangement. This acute attention to composition is apparent in Landscape. The alternating shades of green balance the weight of the scene, and the winding path in the center draws us into the distance.

Credit Line

Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Park and Phyllis Rinard

1930

Object number

1991.122.2R-V

Restrictions & Rights

Usage conditions apply

Type

Painting

Medium

oil on paperboard

Dimensions

12 5/8 x 14 5/8 in. (32.1 x 37.2 cm.)

See more items in

Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection

Department

Painting and Sculpture

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Topic

Landscape

Study

Architecture Exterior\domestic\house

Record ID

saam_1991.122.2R-V

Metadata Usage (text)

Not determined

GUID (Link to Original Record)

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/vk72c2de930-9402-41cf-99fb-ed7bf4ee7a68