American Gothic facts for kids
Quick facts for kids American Gothic |
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| Artist | Grant Wood |
| Year | 1930 |
| Type | Oil on beaverboard |
| Dimensions | 78 cm × 65.3 cm (30¾ in × 25¾ in) |
| Location | Art Institute of Chicago |
American Gothic is a super famous painting from 1930. It was created by an artist named Grant Wood. You can find it at the Art Institute of Chicago museum. The painting shows a serious-looking farmer standing next to his daughter. Many people often think she is his wife, but she's actually his daughter!
This painting is one of the most well-known artworks in American history. It has been copied and made fun of in many ways in popular culture. It even traveled outside the United States for the first time in 2016–2017, being shown in Paris and London.
How American Gothic Was Created
In August 1930, the artist Grant Wood was driving around Eldon, Iowa. He was looking for ideas for a new painting. He saw a small white house called the Dibble House. It was built in a special old style called Carpenter Gothic.
Wood really liked the house. He asked the owners if he could sketch it. The next day, he made a drawing of the house from its front yard. He used oil paints on a piece of paperboard. He never went back to Eldon after that. But he did ask for a photo of the house to finish his painting.
Wood decided he wanted to paint the house with "the kind of people I fancied should live in that house." He asked his sister, Nan, to pose for the woman in the painting. She wore an old-fashioned apron. The man in the painting was modeled by Wood's dentist, Dr. Byron McKeeby. He lived in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Famous Parodies
A parody is when someone makes fun of something in a funny way. American Gothic is one of the most parodied images ever!
During the Great Depression, people saw the painting as a real picture of American life. The first well-known parody was a photo taken in 1942 by Gordon Parks.
Since then, American Gothic has been copied and made fun of many times. It has appeared in Broadway shows like The Music Man. It has also been seen in TV shows such as Green Acres and "The Dick Van Dyke Show". You might also see it in advertisements. Many couples even like to dress up and recreate the painting themselves!
Images for kids
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Nan Wood Graham (the artist's sister) and Dr. Byron McKeeby (the Woods' family dentist) in the Gallery at the Cedar Rapids Public Library, September 1942
See also
In Spanish: Gótico estadounidense para niños
