Grant Wood and the Most Famous Painting in America

Grant Wood’s “Spring in Town” appeared on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post in 1942, but of course Wood was best known for a painting with an entirely different mood.

Portion from Grant Wood's Post cover "Spring in Town"
(Grant Wood / SEPS)

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Comments

  1. I visited Grant Woods loft house in Cedar Rapids two years ago, and what a treat! SO much learned about this amazing artist! Go if you have a chance as it’s well worth it.

  2. Excellent video with great insights into a very gifted artist. Thanks for featuring a wide array of his works. ‘American Gothic’ is his most famous, but there was much more than that. I have the later Post issue featuring the ‘Spring In Town’ cover.

    ‘American Gothic’ is somewhat like the ‘Mona Lisa’ in that we don’t know what’s really going on. Shame on the literary novelists decades ago for their ignorant assumptions about people and places they knew nothing about! Having lived in l.A. all my life, I love the people and vibe in central and northern California small towns. I would imagine there are strong similarities with their mid-west counterparts. After spending even a few days (say) in Lone Pine, it’s depressing to come back here, trust me.

    I have to mention ‘American Gothic’ is cleverly worked into the original 1:00 opening of ‘Desperate Housewives’ at the :20-:25 mark. I recently started re-watching this unique dark humor series on Hulu. One of THE best shows since the turn of the century.

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