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American Gothic

 Believe it or not there are two artworks called American Gothic. While on is a painting by Grant Wood, the other is a photograph by Gordon Parks . They both have different meanings as well. I would to cover both these artworks on this post. So, this is a two for one post today. 

I do not know when I was the very first time I saw this painting. To me, I first thought it was just rural scene with a farmer and his wife. More details about this painting came to me as I got older. It turned out the models were the artist's sister, Nan Wood Graham and the artist's dentist, Dr. Byron McKeeby. This artwork has been often parodied over the years.

                                                                        Artwork Facts
Artist: Grant Wood
Title: American Gothic
Year: 1930
Media: Oil on beaverboard
Dimensions: 30 3/4" x 25 3/4"
Movement: Modernism, Regionalism

Gordon Parks' American Gothic told a whole different story. It told a story of the American, black worker. The posing woman's name was Ella Watson. She was a mother and cleaner whom Parks met in Washington DC. He actually interviewed Watson and learned he was working to support her grandchildren after her husband died.

Artwork Facts
Artist: Gordon Parks
Year: 1942
Dimensions: 12 3/8 x 8 3\4



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