Grant Wood (1 cent)

Grant Wood painted a picture of his sister (whom he aged by decades for the painting) and his dentist, asking them to stare straight ahead, his dentist holding a pitchfork. It became 'American Gothic'.

You wouldn't think of this painting as humorous,just looking at it, but if I had painted this painting some years ago with my sister and Dr. Lambrechts, I would have thought it quite amusing.

In fact, Wood put a rare sense of humor into much of his art. Take, for example, the country cupboard he built, with a drab green stain, onto the front of which (and under the stain) he plastered an actual pair of bib overalls. Or the wooden bench he made at the Cedar Rapids junior high school at which he taught for many years. The bench was to sit outside the principal's office, to serve as a way-station for misbehaving adolescents. On the back of the bench were carved the words: 'The way of all transgressors is hard'. The bench looked hard, too, and the three crying teenagers carved into it look none too happy.

And, for a final example, there is the door to his Cedar Rapids studio (preserved now for all time), with an opaque glass top, through which a hand, like the hand of a clock can be seen. Manipulated from inside, the hand can rest at one of four positions, all under the words "Grant Wood is......" The positions are 'in', 'out', 'having a party' or 'taking a bath'.

Wood was extraordinarily versatile. Working not only in oils and pastels, he was a master a copper work, wrought iron work, and wood. He was a disciple of the 'arts and crafts' school, it is said, and he was a 'regionalist' (which is why some of his works look like Thomas Hart Benton). But he also did landscapes (colorful, almost late Impressionist), and painted industrial themes, and sometimes his work looked like Grandma Moses. And he did commercial work, decorating an entire funeral parlor which belonged to perhaps his best friend, and a restaurant in a Cedar Rapids Hotel, where the mural covering each wall was a ochre-toned cornfield, which must have given quite an effect to Iowa diners.

There is much to see at this very enjoyable and informative show at the Renwick.