American Gothic
1930
Grant Wood's 'American Gothic' (1930) is one of the most iconic and recognizable paintings in American art history, depicting a stern farmer holding a pitchfork alongside a younger woman, set before a Carpenter Gothic-style house in Eldon, Iowa. The work is celebrated for its precise, regionalist realism and its ambiguous tone—simultaneously satirical and sympathetic toward rural American life. The models were Wood's sister Nan Wood Graham and his dentist Dr. Byron McKeeby. The painting is a cornerstone of American Regionalism and a defining image of 20th-century American culture.
- Medium
- Oil on Beaverboard
- Dimensions
- Signed
- Yes
- Spotted At
- Museum · Art Institute of Chicago
Notes
The painting is housed in the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois. It is displayed in a gilded, distressed gold frame. The work was entered into the 1930 Art Institute of Chicago annual juried exhibition, where it won a bronze medal and was subsequently purchased by the museum for $300. The models were Wood's sister Nan Wood Graham (the woman) and his dentist Dr. Byron McKeeby (the man). The house depicted is a real Carpenter Gothic house in Eldon, Iowa, now known as the American Gothic House.
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Artists in conversation
Thomas Hart Benton
American · b. 1889
Benton was a leading American Regionalist painter who depicted rural Midwestern and Southern life with figurative precision and social narrative, sharing Wood's commitment to capturing the stoic dignity of working class Americans in oil on canvas with warm earthy tones.
Andrew Wyeth
American · b. 1917
Wyeth's realist figurative paintings of rural American life, particularly his portraits of isolated individuals set against stark architectural and landscape backdrops, share the same psychological tension, muted palette, and meticulous detail seen in American Gothic.
John Steuart Curry
American · b. 1897
Curry was the third pillar of American Regionalism alongside Wood and Benton, painting narrative figurative scenes of rural Midwestern farm life with the same cultural identity themes, period costuming, and documentary realism that define American Gothic.
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