Elena Rossi
American Gothic, painted by Grant Wood in 1930, is one of the most famous American paintings of the 20th century. The painting depicts a Midwestern farmer and his wife or daughter standing in front of their Carpenter Gothic-style home. The painting is known for its portrayal of human grit and is meant to represent the strength and perseverance of rural American life during challenging times. Wood intended the painting to showcase the fortitude of rural Americans, with the pitchfork-wielding farmer and the woman's cameo brooch adding symbolic depth to the scene. The models for the painting were Wood's sister, Nan Wood Graham, and his dentist, Dr Byron McKeeby, who posed separately for their respective roles. The plants on the porch, the mother-in-law's tongue and beefsteak begonia, also contribute symbolic meaning, with the former possibly alluding to the hardiness of pioneer women.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Artist | Grant Wood |
| Year | 1930 |
| Medium | Oil paint on beaverboard |
| Models | Nan Wood Graham (sister) and Byron McKeeby (family dentist) |
| Location | Eldon, Iowa |
| Architecture | Carpenter Gothic |
| Subjects | A Midwestern farmer and his wife or daughter |
| Clothing | Colonial-print apron, overalls, suit jacket, cameo brooch |
| Objects | Pitchfork, potted plants (mother-in-law's tongue and beefsteak begonia) |
| Themes | Rural life, resilience, toughness, fortitude, religion, sexuality |
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The painting's subjects
The subjects of the painting are a man and a woman, who have been interpreted as either a farmer and his wife or a father and his daughter. The models for the painting were the artist's sister, Nan Wood Graham, and the family dentist, Dr Byron McKeeby. Wood himself was vague about their relationship, but in a letter written in 1941, he stated that the pair were a father and his grown-up daughter. The woman's sideways glance and the defensive pose of the man holding a pitchfork, as if to repel trespassers, have been interpreted as suggesting the rigidity of Northern Renaissance portraiture.
The woman is dressed in a colonial print apron, evoking 20th-century rural Americana, while the man is dressed in overalls covered by a suit jacket. The pitchfork, which was originally a rake in Wood's sketches, has been interpreted as a farming tool, a weapon, or a symbol of the Christian Trinity. The plants on the porch of the house, a mother-in-law's tongue and a beefsteak begonia, have also been interpreted as symbolic. They may represent the hardiness of pioneer women or symbolise peace and concord or impending misfortune and darkness.
The painting is considered a statement on the resilience and toughness of rural American life during a challenging time in history, namely the Great Depression. Wood himself stated that the subjects were "types of people I have known all my life. I tried to characterize them truthfully—to make them more like themselves than they were in actual life."
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The pitchfork
Overall, the pitchfork serves multiple purposes in the painting, from its practical implication of the man's occupation to its symbolic and religious connotations, as well as its contribution to the overall composition and visual rhythm of the artwork.
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The plants
The potted plants on the porch of the house in Grant Wood's American Gothic are a beefsteak begonia and a mother-in-law's tongue (Sansevieria). These plants also appear in Wood's 1929 portrait of his mother, Woman with Plants, in which his mother sits in front of a beefsteak begonia and holds a potted mother-in-law's tongue in front of her.
Wood did not disclose the reason for his choice of plants, but plants often carry symbolic meanings. According to the language of flowers, the begonia can symbolise impending misfortune, caution, dark thoughts, gratitude, individuality, uniqueness, or justice and peace. The hardiness of the Sansevieria, meanwhile, may have made it popular with pioneer women.
One interpretation of the painting's subjects is that they are a father and his spinster daughter. The inclusion of the mother-in-law's tongue plant could therefore be satirical, pointing out the daughter's lack of an actual mother-in-law. The begonia, meanwhile, could be interpreted as a symbol of peace and concord, or a forewarning of misfortune and darkness.
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The house
The Gothic window of the house is a key element that inspired the painting's title, "American Gothic". The window's shape is repeated in the stitching on the male figure's bib overalls, and the pattern of his shirt. The window also features a pinnacle that visually repeats the church spire in the distance, perhaps alluding to rural Protestant earnestness. The window's pointed arches are usually found in churches, and this unusual feature fascinated Wood, who observed that the house was "built along severe Gothic lines".
The potted plants on the porch of the house, a "mother-in-law's tongue" or snake plant, and a beefsteak begonia, are also notable elements. These plants have been interpreted as symbols of toughness and peace or forewarnings of misfortune and darkness. The plants may also allude to the hardiness of pioneer women. The beefsteak begonias echo the shape of the trees behind the house, and the three leaves of the mother-in-law's tongue repeat the pattern of the window, the hay fork, and the stitching on the bib overalls.
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The artist's intention
The artist, Grant Wood, intended the painting to be a representation of the strength and perseverance of rural American life during a challenging time in history, namely the Great Depression. Wood himself said, "These are types of people I have known all my life. I tried to characterize them truthfully—to make them more like themselves than they were in actual life." The painting is a statement on the fortitude of rural life during the economic crisis that followed the stock market crash of 1929, which plunged the American rural world into great poverty.
Wood was inspired to paint the house, known as the American Gothic House, in Eldon, Iowa, along with "the kind of people [he] fancied should live in that house". The house is built in the Carpenter Gothic architectural style, which is referenced in the painting's title. Wood's intention was to portray human grit in an aged landscape, with the two figures appearing solemn and stoic. The man's pitchfork, originally a rake in Wood's sketches, has been interpreted as a weapon, evoking a sense of defensiveness and protection. The woman's sideways glance and loose strand of hair are also open to interpretation, with some suggesting it represents the ravishing of the mythological goddess Proserpina.
The plants on the porch of the house, a mother-in-law's tongue and a beefsteak begonia, are believed to have symbolic meanings. The mother-in-law's tongue is known for its toughness and may be a satirical reference to the daughter's spinster status. The begonia can symbolise peace and concord or forewarn of misfortune and darkness. Wood himself did not disclose the reason for his choice of plants, but they also appear in his 1929 portrait of his mother, 'Woman with Plants'.
The clothing of the figures also contributes to the interpretation of the painting. The woman's colonial-print apron evokes 20th-century rural Americana, while the man's overalls and suit jacket suggest a mix of rural and town life. The apron's pattern also matches the curtains in the upstairs window, creating a sense of continuity and repetition in the composition.
Overall, Wood intended the painting to be a complex and ambivalent portrayal of rural American life, with the figures serving as archetypes of the people he knew and the house as a symbol of the Gothic style found in the Midwest.
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Frequently asked questions
American Gothic was painted by Grant Wood.
American Gothic was painted in 1930.
The painting is a statement on the fortitude of rural American life during a challenging time in history, namely the Great Depression. It depicts the resilience and toughness of rural people in the Midwest.
The two figures in the painting are Grant Wood's sister, Nan Wood Graham, and the family dentist, Dr Byron McKeeby. They are dressed up, possibly to celebrate an important moment in their lives.
The pitchfork has been interpreted in various ways. It could be a weapon, a way of preventing the devil from entering the house, or an evocation of sexuality.
