(1892-1942) U.S.painter most famous for his painting "American Gothic"
Grant Wood, born Grant DeVolson Wood (
February 13,
1891 –
February 12,
1942) was an
American painter, born in
Anamosa,
Iowa. He is best known for his paintings depicting the rural American
Midwest. His family moved to
Cedar Rapids after his father died in
1901. Soon thereafter he began as an apprentice in a local metal shop. After graduating from
Washington High School (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) , Wood enrolled in art school in
Minneapolis in
1910, and returned a year later to teach in a one-room schoolhouse. In
1913 he enrolled at the
Art Institute of Chicago and did some work as a
silversmith. He again returned to Cedar Rapids to teach Junior High students after serving in the army as a camouflage painter. From
1920 to
1928 he made four trips to Europe, where he studied many styles of painting, especially
impressionism. But it was the work of
Jan Van Eyck that influenced him to take on the clarity of this new technique and to incorporate it in his new works. From
1924 to
1935 Wood lived in the loft of a carriage house that he turned into his personal studio at "5 Turner Alley" (the studio had no address until Wood made one up himself). In
1932, Wood helped found the
Stone City Art Colony near his hometown to help artists get through the
Great Depression. He became a great proponent of regionalism in the arts, lecturing throughout the country on the topic.
See more at Wikipedia.org...
Free Download Now!
