American Gothic - Diamond Painting

Who Are the People in American Gothic?

Grant Wood used his sister, Nan Wood Graham, and his dentist, Byron McKeeby, as models. Nan always said the pair were meant to be a farmer and his daughter, not husband and wife.

The house behind them is real. Wood saw it in Eldon, Iowa, and was struck by its Gothic style upper window on such a plain little farmhouse. The painting belongs to the Art Institute of Chicago.

How American Gothic Became Famous

Wood painted it in 1930 and entered it in an exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago that year. It won a prize, the museum bought it, and newspapers across the country printed it. Some Iowans were offended, reading it as a mockery of rural people. Wood said he meant it with affection.

Since then it has become one of the most copied and parodied images in American art, borrowed by advertisers, cartoonists and comedians for nearly a century.

Regionalism and What to Look For

Wood was a leader of Regionalism, a 1930s movement that turned away from European trends to paint the American Midwest. Ironically, a trip to Germany helped shape his style: there he saw the sharp, detailed portraits of early Flemish and German painters and took that precision home to Iowa.

The picture is full of echoes. The three prongs of the pitchfork repeat in the stitching of the overalls and in the pointed window above. Look for the cameo brooch at the woman's collar, the stray curl of hair at her neck, and the potted plants on the porch behind her shoulder.

American Gothic Diamond Painting: Building the Faces

The dark clothing and the sky form wide areas that fill quickly. The faces, hair and the farmhouse are where the small color steps live.

Start at the top with the sky and house, then work down, leaving the faces for a session when you have good light. The small cameo brooch, the pitchfork and the pointed window are worth slowing down for.

Find more classic American and European art among our diamond painting kits.