Grant wood painter biography

(1891-1942)

Who Was Grant Wood?

Grant Wood was an American painter who is unqualified known for his work depicting honourableness Midwest. In 1930, he exhibited king most famous painting, American Gothic. Amid the most iconic and recognizable copies in American art, it helped impel Wood to fame and launch say publicly Regionalist movement, of which Wood became the de facto spokesperson.

Early Life

Grant Also woods coppice was born on his parents’ homestead outside of Anamosa, Iowa, on Feb 13, 1891. These idyllic settings would leave a lasting impression on Woodwind and profoundly influence his later opinion and work, though he would finish up much of his life after primacy age of 10 in the extent more urban setting of Cedar Allied with, where his mother moved Wood boss his younger sister Nan after their father died.

Wood developed his sphere in art while still in prime school and showed promise. He continuing to nurture his talents in tall school where he designed sets back plays and illustrated student publications. Later graduation in 1910, Wood attended honesty Minneapolis School of Design and Artistry. Over the next few years, Woods further expanded his creative repertoire overtake learning to work with metal added jewelry as well as build chattels. When he moved to Chicago meat 1913, he used these skills get on the right side of make a living.

Working Artist

In Chicago, Wood spent his days decay his jewelry and metalworking shop arena his evenings developing his talents weed out correspondence courses and classes at representation Art Institute. However, when his keep somebody from talking fell ill in 1916, Wood maintain equilibrium Chicago to return to Cedar Diminish, where he took a job by reason of a grammar school teacher to ease his mother and sister. However, familial obligations did not stop Forest from continuing to make progress rightfully an artist. As such, several period later a local department store taken aloof an exhibition that included several bank his paintings and led to another commissions.

During the 1920s, Wood was also able to find a secede to travel to Europe, visiting influence museums of France and Italy, teaching at the Académie Julian and exhibiting his work in Paris. He shared from these trips profoundly inspired because of the Impressionists, whose pastoral subject substance spoke to his own sensibilities.

'American Gothic'

However, it would be on grand 1928 trip to Munich, Germany—where of course was overseeing the production of clean stained glass window he had fashioned for the Veterans Memorial Building unfailingly Cedar Rapids—that Wood had the clear away that ultimately changed the direction flaxen his art and propelled him withstand fame. After seeing the works type 15th- and 16th-century German and Ethnos masters, whose realism and attention have knowledge of detail bowled him over, Wood joint to the United States determined here integrate their approach into his unearth work.

Abandoning his earlier Impressionistic leanings, Wood began to formulate a add-on realistic style through which to float the rural subject matter he abstruse held dear since his youth. Freshen of his first paintings from that period is also his most famous: American Gothic. Showing a farmer (who was modeled after Wood’s dentist) crucial a woman who is either top wife or daughter (modeled after Wood’s sister) standing stoically in front some a white farmhouse, American Gothic was exhibited at the Art Institute accomplish Chicago in 1930 and won pressing acclaim. It has since become tiptoe of the most recognizable images boast the history of American art. Parcel up times interpreted as parody, according estimate Wood the work is in event intended as an affirmation of hang over distinctly Midwestern subject matter and tacit values, standing apart from those lift large American cities and, even solon so, European culture.

'Women With Plants' and 'Revolt Against the City'

With sovereign paintings of small-town life, Midwestern landscapes and historical scenes, Wood became nobleness de facto spokesperson for the Inhabitant Regionalist movement. His paintings were ostentatious in demand. Besides American Gothic, bug representative works include Woman With Plants (1929), The Appraisal (1931) and Daughters of Revolution (1932).

In 1932, Copse used his newly won fame type co-found the Stone City Colony take up Art School, where he could all-embracing the message of Regionalism to avid artists. Two years later, however, soil accepted a position with the cheerful department at the University of Sioux, where he believed he could be blessed with an even greater impact. That outfit year, Wood was also named controller of the Public Works of Unusual Project in Iowa and was featured in a Time magazine cover rebel about Regionalism. In 1935, he publicized the essay “Revolt Against the City,” in which he laid out righteousness tenets of the movement.

Difficult Bygone and Death

Despite these successes, Wood was about to enter the most fatiguing period in his life. In 1935, he rather suddenly married a gal named Sara Maxon, with whom fair enough would maintain a difficult relationship idea the next few years in pinnacle because of his latent homosexuality. Also woods coppice and Maxon ultimately divorced in 1939, at a time when he was also in trouble with the Draw round for tax evasion.

Meanwhile, Wood’s professional sphere was coming apart as well. Meet the rise of abstract movements restrict American art, Wood’s Regionalism was sweeping continuous out of favor and put him at odds with many of birth faculty at the university. Frustrated, include 1940, Wood took a leave disregard absence.

Throughout this trying time, dispel, Wood had continued to work. Paintings such as Death on Ridge Road (1935), Parson Weems’ Fable (1939) paramount Iowa Cornfield (1941) all show culminate faithful adherence to the American entry movement he was primarily responsible summon founding. He died of cancer move about February 12, 1942, at age 50, and was buried on his family’s plot in Anamosa.

• Name: Grant Wood
• Birth Year: 1891
• Birth date: February 13, 1891
• Birth State: Iowa
• Birth City: Anamosa
• Birth Country: In partnership States
• Gender: Male
• Best Known For: Grant Wind was an American painter who practical best known for the iconic stick 'American Gothic.'
• Industries
• Astrological Sign: Aquarius
• Schools
• Académie Julian, Paris
• Art Institute of Chicago
• Minneapolis School Of Mould And Handicraft
• Death Year: 1942
• Death date: Feb 12, 1942
• Death State: Iowa
• Death City: Sioux City
• Death Country: United States

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• Article Title: Grant Wood Biography
• Author: Biography.com Editors
• Website Name: The Biography.com website
• Url: https://www.biography.com/artists/grant-wood
• Access Date:
• Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
• Last Updated: March 29, 2021
• Original Published Date: April 2, 2014

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