By DARLA MCCAMMON
Lakeland Art Association

Do you remember this past summer the American Gothic sculpture across the street from the Warsaw City Hall and the Kosciusko County Courthouse? The one of the somber farmer, his daughter and the famous pitchfork? The inspiration for that sculpture was taken from a painting by artist Grant Wood that is now almost as famous as the Mona Lisa. That painting has been the subject of acclaim, satire, and comedic jokes. That artist,  Grant Wood, was another artist who participated in the Great Depression work offered by the Works Progress Administration.

Grant Wood was born in Anamosa, Iowa in 1891. He was only ten years old when his father died and his family moved to Cedar Rapids. He worked in a local metal shop to help his family and still managed to graduate from Washington High School. Enrolling in art schools in Minneapolis as well as the Art Institute of Chicago, he taught for two years, worked as a silversmith, and continued his interest in art.

He managed to squeeze in four trips to Europe in order to enhance those studies. Wood was greatly influenced by the famous Dutch artist Jan Van Eyck whose work still stands out today for its realism and magnificent use of dark against light. Wood was exposed to the avant garde in European painting including the impressionists, but it was to Van Eyck he gave his loyalty and developed his technique.

Wood became known as a Regionalist artist along with others such as Thomas Hart Benton. This was a school of artists located in the Midwest who promoted figurative, realistic painting of American themes. These artists rejected the abstraction that was growing in popularity in Europe.

By 1932 the Depression had its’ nasty grip on the country. Wood became involved with the WPA and helped found the Stone City Art Colony to help artists make a living. One of the major projects that can be visited and viewed today was the Grant Wood Murals at Iowa State University in Ames. Wood designed the murals first. He then hired needy artists in the WPA program to paint his design on the walls of the University.

The oil on canvas murals are in the Grant Wood Heritage Area and are the major artistic feature of this Library.

Interestingly, Wood did use unemployed artists but he made his criteria for selection by picking from those who had managed to have work exhibited at the Iowa State Fair. There are nine very large murals each depicting various disciplines offered by the school, but also connecting those themes with his unrelenting love of the pioneer farmers and people of the Midwest.

A quote from Daniel Webster was used as a theme for this project. It reads: “When tillage begins, other arts follow. The farmers, therefore, are the founders of human civilization.”

Grant Wood was more than a painter. During his life he had successes in ink, charcoal, lithography, metal, wood and ceramics. He also served in the army as a camouflage painter. Wood died of pancreatic cancer while employed at his beloved University of Iowa’s School of Art. He passed away one day before his 51st birthday. His estate passed into the hands of the Figge Art Museum located in Davenport, Iowa.

Upcoming and Current Events:

• Visit the Warsaw City Hall Gallery. Free admission daily 8 a.m to 4:30 p.m. weekdays. This is a great exhibit by Teresa Smith.
• Contact Paula Bowman at Latte Lounge to participate in her next “Caffeine and Canvas” event. This fun adventure in painting continues to be very popular and successful.

More info on LAA can be found at www.lakelandartassociation.org or on Facebook. Also call (574) 594-9950. Contact your author/artist Darla McCammon at [email protected].