Grant Wood: American Gothic.

UP, UP, AND AWAY

The painting's title refers to the Gothic Architectural style, which originated in medieval European cathedrals with their soaring spires. The window at the top of Wood's farmhouse is designed in a Gothic style. Ask kids to point out other tall, vertical features of the painting. (The pitchfork, the long faces and torsos of the man and woman, the boards on the house.)

WIFE OR DAUGHTER?

Many people have wondered whether the woman in the painting is supposed to be the farmer's daughter or his wife. (Wood's sister Nan and his dentist Dr. Byron McKeeby were models for the pair.) Ask students: Which relative do you think she is, and why? How do you think they feel about the other and about their lives? How do they spend their days? Consider having students write a dialogue between them or a story about them.

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PATTERNS AND SHAPES

Invite students to look closely at the painting for certain geometric shapes and patterns that repeat. For example, the points of the pitchfork are mimicked in the bib of the farmer's overalls and in his shirt, and the pattern on the woman's dress is replicated in the upstairs window. What other patterns and shapes can students find?

FAMOUS FACES

American Gothic is not only Wood's most famous painting--it is one of the most recognizable paintings anywhere, along with Da Vinci's Mona Lisa and Munch's The Scream. Ask: What about these paintings makes them so arresting and enduring? (For example, all show faces looking directly out.)

MEET THE ARTIST

Grant Wood was born in Iowa in 1891, and is well-known for his realistic, or representational, depictions of the rural Midwest. Wood based the setting for American Gothic on a house he spotted while traveling through Eldon, Iowa, in 1930--the fancy Gothic window in the plain rural setting caught his eye. It's hard to imagine now, but the painting caused a fierce controversy. One art critic called it "an insulting caricature of plain country people." Later, during the Great Depression, people began to appreciate the work, and saw it as celebrating solid American virtues of the heartland, such as steadfastness and hard work. Grant Wood once said, "The aim of art is to teach people to live happier, fuller lives." Ask students: Do you think Wood intended to poke fun at his subjects? Did he take them seriously? Why or why not?

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Make Your Own American Gothic

Parodies of American Gothic have appeared on Saturday Night Live, The Simpsons, and on numerous T-shirts and coffee mugs. Now students can update the painting to reflect America as they see it.

1. Photocopy the image on the Masterpiece poster to fit on an 11 x 17 sheet for each student.

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2. Using a pencil eraser and colored pencils, students can add to and transform the image.

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3. Pass out magazines and have students cut out images of contemporary culture.

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4. Have students glue the cut-out images to further personalize their own iconic art!

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* If your students are digitally sawy, invite them to scan in the masterpiece poster, and then alter, add to, and draw on the image electronically using PhotoShop software.

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HERE'S ALL YOU NEED:

* 11 x 17 inch black and white photocopies of American Gothic (one per student)

* colored pencils

* scissors 

* magazines

* glue sticks

* erasers