Indecent Exposure

"All the good ideas I ever had came to me while I was milking a cow."

Grant Wood

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One day in 1930, while strolling through the small town of Eldon, Iowa, Grant Wood saw something beautiful: a charming white house with a front porch and distinctive second-floor window. Though he wasn’t in the market for a new home, the painter was looking for a muse. It occurred to him that this house should play a starring role in his next painting.

That painting, American Gothic, made Wood famous around the world. But at home, it put his life—or at least his extremities—at risk.

Grant Wood, "American Gothic", 1930, oil on beaver board, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago.
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After it debuted, locals were none too happy with American Gothic. The painting depicted a farmer and his daughter standing before their family home. Modeled after the artist’s sister and family dentist, these characters were rigid and austere. All pitchfork and no smiles.

Locals were incensed. They thought Wood was mocking their country ways. One Iowan was so insulted she even threatened to bite off Wood’s ear.

Photograph of Grant Wood’s sister, Nan, and his family dentist, Dr. Byron H. McKeeby.
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But Wood maintained that American Gothic was not the critique of an outsider looking in. The artist was a native of the Corn State and a regionalist painter, meaning he made art that depicted scenes of rural American life. He wanted to celebrate his neighbors’ puritan morals and tireless work ethic. If anything, American Gothic was an homage, not an insult, to the Midwest’s hearty character.

Grant Wood, "Stone City, Iowa", 1930, oil on wood, Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha, NE.
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Tensions eventually smoothed over. Today, the once-controversial work is considered a masterpiece, one of the most famous paintings in American history—and among the most parodied around the world.

As for the little white house that started it all? It’s now a major tourist attraction. An ironic twist of fate for the inspiration of such a humble scene.