'American Gothic' Is On Display At The Whitney Museum

MEATPACKING DISTRICT, NY — The seminal painting "American Gothic" is on display at the Whitney Museum as part of a larger retrospective of the artist's work.

The artist, Grant Wood, created one one of the 20th century's most famous American artworks in "American Gothic," which he painted in 1930. The painting, which is usually on display at the Art Institute of Chicago, is at the Whitney through June 10 as part of a special exhibit of Wood's work. Wood was inspired to paint the iconic image during a visit to the town of Eldon, Iowa. He used his sister and his dentist as models to paint a farmer and his daughter, according to the Art Institute of Chicago.

"American Gothic, often understood as a satirical comment on the midwestern character, quickly became one of America’s most famous paintings and is now firmly entrenched in the nation’s popular culture," according to the Chicago museum. "Yet Wood intended it to be a positive statement about rural American values, an image of reassurance at a time of great dislocation and disillusionment. The man and woman, in their solid and well-crafted world, with all their strengths and weaknesses, represent survivors."

The exhibit, titled "Grand Wood: American Gothic and Other Fables," is curated by the Whitney's Barbara Haskell and is the most comprehensive Wood retrospective ever mounted, according to the Whitney.

Tickets to the museum, which is located at 99 Gansevoort St., cost $25 for adults and $18 for seniors and students. You can learn more about the exhibit here.

Image credit: Grant Wood, American Gothic, 1930. Art Institute of Chicago; Friends of American Art Collection 1930.934. © Figge Art Museum, successors to the Estate of Nan Wood Graham/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY. Photograph courtesy Art Institute of Chicago/Art Resource, NY