effects of Cubist space and his memories of the patterns made by the
colored scatter rugs brightening the floors of his childhood homes.
He unified the narrative with a consistent palette of bluish green, or-
ange, yellow, and grayish brown throughout the entire series.
GRANT WOODAlthough many American artists, such as the
Precisionists (FIGS. 35-37and 35-38), preferred to depict the city
or rapidly developing technological advances, others avoided sub-
jects tied to modern life. At a 1931 arts conference,Grant Wood
(1891–1942) announced a new movement developing in the Mid-
west, known as Regionalism,which he described as focused on
American subjects and as standing in reaction to the modernist ab-
straction of Europe and New York. Four years later, Wood published
an essay “Revolt against the City” that underscored this new focus.
Wood and the Regionalists, sometimes referred to as the American
Scene Painters, turned their attention instead to rural life as Amer-
ica’s cultural backbone. Wood’s paintings, for example, focus on
rural Iowa, where he was born and raised.
The work that catapulted Wood to national prominence was
American Gothic (FIG. 35-65), which became an American icon. The
artist depicted a farmer and his spinster daughter standing in front of aneat house with a small lancetwindow, typically found on Gothic
cathedrals. The man and woman wear traditional attire. He appears in
worn overalls, and she in an apron trimmed with rickrack. The dour
expression on both faces gives the painting a severe quality, which
Wood enhanced with his meticulous brushwork. The public and pro-
fessional critics agreed that American Gothic was “quaint, humorous,
and AMERICAN” and embodied “strength, dignity, fortitude, resolute-
ness, integrity,” qualities that represented the true spirit of America.^54
Wood’s Regionalist vision involved more than his subjects. It
extended to a rejection of avant-garde styles in favor of a clearly
readable, Realist style. Surely this approach appealed to many people
alienated by the increasing presence of abstraction in art. Interest-
ingly enough, despite the accolades this painting received, it also at-
tracted criticism. Not everyone saw the painting as a sympathetic
portrayal of Midwestern life. Indeed, some in Iowa considered the
depiction insulting. In addition, despite the seemingly reportorial
nature ofAmerican Gothic,some viewed it as a political statement—
one of staunch nationalism. In light of the problematic nationalism
in Germany at the time, many observers found Wood’s nationalistic
attitude disturbing. Nonetheless, during the Great Depression, Re-
gionalist paintings had a popular appeal because they often pro-
jected a reassuring image of America’s heartland. The public saw Re-
gionalism as a means of coping with the national crisis through a
search for cultural roots. Thus, people deemed acceptable any nos-
talgia implicit in Regionalist paintings or mythologies these works
perpetuated because they served a larger purpose.America, 1930 to 1945 95735-64Jacob Lawrence,No. 49 from The Migration of the Negro,
1940–1941. Tempera on Masonite, 1 6 1 . Phillips Collection,
Washington, D.C.
The 49th in a series of 60 paintings documenting African American life
in the North, Lawrence’s depiction of a segregated dining room under-
scored that the migrants had not left discrimination behind.35-65Grant Wood,American Gothic,1930. Oil on beaverboard,
2 5 –^78 2 ^7 – 8 . Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago (Friends of American Art
Collection). Art © Estate of Grant Wood/Licensed by VAGA, New York.
In reaction to modernist abstract painting, the Midwestern Regionalism
movement focused on American subjects. Wood’s painting of an Iowa
farmer and his daughter is an American icon.1 in.
1 ft.