1. American Gothic Muneeb Alavi Mrs. Chapman 8-31-10

3. Artist Biography (Grant Wood) Born February 13, 1891 in Anamosa, Iowa In 1913, he attended the School of Art Institute of Chicago In 1930, he painted American Gothic, his most famous painting In 1932, he founded the Stone City Art Colony, where he helped artists out during the depression On February 12, 1942, he died of liver cancer :(

4. Visual Analysis The artist’s style resembles 15 th century northern European artists The painting shows an old man standing with his unmarried daughter on a farm The women mimics 19 th century Americana They symbolize the traditional roles of men and women The pitchfork the man is carrying symbolizes hard labor

5. Historical and contextual analysis Wood asked his sister and dentist to pose to be the man and women in the painting The painting epitomizes the Great Depression The somber expressions on the couple’s faces suggest that their farm is closing The picture represents life in rural America during the Great Depression

6. Significance During the depression, this painting went on to represent endurance in hard times The painting was painted in result to regionalism