Grant Wood and American Gothic Sites - Eastern Iowa
Artist Grant Wood was born in Jones County, Iowa, and grew up to become one of the most famous painters of the Regionalism movement; among his paintings is the iconic American Gothic, which features a stern-looking farmer and his daughter standing in front of a small farmhouse. American Gothic would go on to become one of the most recognized - and parodied - paintings in the world.
Wood spent most of his life in Jones County and nearby Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, Iowa before dying of pancreatic cancer in 1942 when he was just 50 years old.
There are a number of sites in Eastern Iowa associated with Grant Wood, his life and his work.
The Photos (in order)
R07A0013 - Grant Wood was born in 1891 a few miles east of Anamosa, Iowa; he attended Antioch School, this one-room schoolhouse, until he was ten years old (17314 Hwy 64, outside Anamosa)
R14A0187 - His father died when Wood was ten; his family moved to this house in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in February 1902; Wood spent most of the rest of his life living and working in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, Iowa (318 14th St. NE)
Z94A0001 - My grandma met Grant Wood when they were both teachers at Jackson in Cedar Rapids, and they courted for a while; in the summer of 1920, Wood made the first of four trips to Europe to study painting; while there he painted this picture - Basket Willows of Paris - which he gave to my grandma; it's not the style for which Wood later became famous, but how many farm wives could claim to own an original Grant Wood painting?
R14A0199 - From 1924 to 1935, Grant Wood lived in the loft of the Douglas Mansion carriage house; he used the carriage house as his studio (810 2nd Ave. SE)
R13A0497 - Grant Wood visited Eldon, Iowa in 1930, where this small farmhouse - the Dibble House - with its pretentious Gothic window caught his eye; he made a sketch of it the next day, and later made a painting of the house with a farmer (portrayed by his dentist, Dr. Byron McKeeby) and the farmer's daughter (portrayed by Grant's sister Nan Wood Graham) standing in front of it; the painting, the now-iconic American Gothic, placed third in an Art Institute of Chicago competition in 1930, where it hangs to this day
R13A0507 - The Dibble House now stands outside the American Gothic House Center in Eldon, Iowa; the center is home to a small museum on Wood, the painting and its iconic status, and the house; the center also provides clothes and a hayfork for visitors who want to look the part when they pose for pictures in front of the house (300 American Gothic St.)
R14A0223 - In 1932, Wood co-founded the Stone City Art Colony, which met in the summers of 1932 and 1933 at the John Green Estate in Stone City, Iowa; years later the Green Mansion was damaged by fire and torn down, but several outbuildings and other stone buildings in town survive, including the former general store, pictured; Wood lived and worked above the store when in town for the art colony sessions (12612 Stone City Rd.)
R14A0231 - Grant Wood died in Iowa City of pancreatic cancer in 1942; he was buried in the family plot in Riverside Cemetery in Anamosa (S. Elm St.)
Best Attractions & Things to do in Cedar Rapids, Iowa IA
Cedar Rapids Travel Guide. MUST WATCH. Top things you have to do in Cedar Rapids. We have sorted Tourist Attractions in Cedar Rapids for You. Discover Cedar Rapids as per the Traveler Resources given by our Travel Specialists. You will not miss any fun thing to do in Cedar Rapids.
This Video has covered Best Attractions and Things to do in Cedar Rapids.
Don't forget to Subscribe our channel to view more travel videos. Click on Bell ICON to get the notification of newly uploaded videos.
List of Best Things to do in Cedar Rapids, Iowa (IA)
National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library
Brucemore
Czech Village / New Bohemia District
NewBo City Market
Paramount theater
Indian Creek Nature Center
Bever Park
Cedar Rapids Museum of Art
Grant Wood Studio
Cedar River
Flood Aid Donations - Cedar Rapids Iowa American Flag
Donate- Salvation Army Cedar Rapids:
Red Cross Grant Wood Chapter:
Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation
200 First St SW
Cedar Rapids, IA 52404
Online donations may be made by credit card at beginning Friday, June 20.
If she can make it, we can make it says one young woman referring to her American flag.
The video show a truly phenomenal display of American pride -- the video showing only a sampling of the hundreds of flags flown just days after the flooding.
Iowa is a place where old time values still exist. It's a friendly yet unassuming place with a great quality of life. It's a place where people still say hello to each other. It truly is within America's heartland. Iowans immediately went straight to work to recover their own lives. They need America's help. When faced with the devastation, the residents who lost everything and face a bleak future turned to their American pride by displaying their American flags - no matter how battered and bruised they may be.
THEY TURNED TO YOU AMERICA! NOW - THEY NEED YOU, AMERICA! Please donate today.
We need to raise tens of millions to the effort as this disaster has a truly massive affect on our people.
2016 Grant Wood Symposium Morning Session
Kerry Dean Carso (State University of New York at New Paltz) presents Grant Wood and the After-Life of Victorian Architecture; James Swensen (Brigham Young University) presents On Common Ground: Grant Wood and the photography of the Farm Security Administration; and Annelise K. Madsen (Art Institute of Chicago) presents 'Something of color and imagination': Grant Wood, Storytelling, and the Past's Appeal in Depression-Era America at the 2016 Grant Wood Symposium held at the University of Iowa. Learn more at
00:00 - 48:21 Kerry Dean Carso
48:22 - 1:23:11 James Swensen
1:23:12 - 2:02:24 Annelise K. Madsen
The Appraisal, a musical dramatization of the painting by Grant Wood. Music/Text by Michael Ching
from SEVEN WOODS AND A VAN, a life of Grant Wood. Opera in One Act by Michael Ching. Commissioned by the Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre (Premiere April 2019). Workshop presentation by students at Iowa State University, November 2019.
How to Paint Oranges 8 Different Ways Part 2 LIVE: Discover Your Personal Art Style Painting Demo
Part 2 of 2 Thinking about trying to paint in a different style? Not sure what you favorite art style is and want to explore more? Come join professional artist Dena Tollefson in her art studio! Dena shows you how to explore your personal style and try out different art movements and art techniques This creative exercise can be done in oil paint, acrylic, gouache, watercolor, pastels, colored pencil and more. We will discuss how to discover your own personal art style by examining art movements of the past and present- trying them on for size. This video we will paint an orange in 8 different art styles.
Topics include art movements of realism, pointillism, cubism, fauvism, naturalism, minimalism, action painting, abstract expressionism and how you can paint in these styles to grow your creativity and develop your personal art style. Artists discussed- Rothko, Van Gogh, Serat, Gauguin, Matisse, Jackson Pollock, Grant Wood. This fun, relaxing video is a great way to unwind and increase your creativity. Tollefson is known for deep, vibrant colors in her signature painting technique.
Find Dena Tollefson's favorite art supplies at
As an Amazon Influencer, Tollefson receives compensation at no additional cost to you.
Be sure to subscribe to her channel for more painting tips.
Learn more at her website
Tollefson is a Christian and her artwork is positive message, uplifting and healing. Collectors use her paintings for meditation, calming, and healing thought.
Artist’s Statement: I am a Colorist and am known for contemporary realism focusing on botanicals and landscapes, especially ponds, flowers and skies. My sky paintings are my idea of how God created Earth with one breath. Every morning and every evening He creates a new sky for us.
I employ vigorous brushwork and texture through the palette knife in my work so that people may experience along with me the feel of the painting. I find mosaics fascinating how the individual pieces all contribute to the whole- I want my paintings to have a similar idea where overlapping petals of paint all stand on their own and then contribute to the total.
My work known as Daubism is created using a palette knife where each stroke of color is isolated from the others. Most paintings will have hundreds of different colors, these colors are all individually hand-mixed from a limited set of colors creating unique colors which relate to one another. I am striving for a sensual, tactile surface in paint.
I am always excited when someone connects with my artwork- I am delighted to share a vision of color and beauty with my collectors- Dena Tollefson
Dena Tollefson is an American artist whose bold contemporary paintings focus on joyful use of color, texture and movement, creating a low relief effect in paint- a hybrid between low relief sculpture, mosaic, and traditional painting.
She is known for floral painting, especially how to paint sunflowers.
Dena Tollefson (nee Dena Schaefer), born 1965, is a full-time, professional artist. Tollefson graduated from Iowa State University in 1988 and lived in Dallas Texas before returning to Iowa in 1991 where she developed her unique, highly textured painting style. She lives in Cedar Rapids, Iowa with her husband and family.
Tollefson is represented in galleries nationally in New Mexico, California, Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois.
Her Daubism body of work is a unique process she developed, where daubs of individually mixed paint are applied with a palette knife. The largest daubs are applied with a serving spoon, allowing ridges of paint which catch the light and appear to dance and scintillate as the viewer moves past the painting. Tollefson’s work focuses on botanicals, ponds, skies, and her Corn Series of work, biographies where people are depicted as ears of corn. Her work is highly tactile.
Museum, Corporate & Selected Private Collections
Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, Cedar Rapids, IA.
Farm Credit Services Omaha, NE
Terso Solutions Corporation Madison, WI
Iowa Department of Human Services, Cedar Rapids, IA
Genesis Hospital, Davenport, IA
Monsanto Corporation St Louis, MO
Ronald McDonald Facility/Unity Point Health Cedar Rapids, IA
Ruberry, Stalmack and Garvey Law Firm Chicago, IL
Marion Arts Council Marion, IA
Mercy Hospital Cedar Rapids, IA
PCI Cardiologists Inc., Cedar Rapids, Iowa
St Luke’s Hospice Cedar Rapids, IA
StarcomMediaVest CEO, Chicago, IL
St Luke’s hospital, Cedar Rapids, IA.
United Fire and Casualty Owner, Cedar Rapids, IA
Mableton Bank, Mabelton, GA
Lil’ Drug Stores CEO, Scottsdale, AZ
Two of Dena Tollefson's paintings are in the permanent collection of the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art. Her work hangs publicly and in private collections throughout the world.
Mural Conservation Project WPA Public Art Restoration - Cedar Rapids, City Hall
For project info, videos and contact info click: For contact info and more click on SHOW MORE
See other testimonials at:
Capabilities Statement:
Mural consultation services:
See YouTube links to other mural projects:
Contact info; Scott M. Haskins, 805 564 3438 faclartdoc@gmail.com
#MuralConservation, #MuralRestoration, #ArtRestoration, #ArtConservation, #PaintingConservation, #PaintingRestoration, #GrantWood, #CedarRapids, #CleanAMural, #RemovePaintFromAMural, #WPAMurals, #WPAArt,
faclinc, Scott M. Haskins, Fine Art Conservation Laboratories, mural conservation, mural restoration, Cedar Rapids City Hall Murals, Remove paint from murals, clean a painting, remove paint from a mural, paint removal from a mural, Grant Wood Artist Colony
2016 Grant Wood Symposium Keynote Address by Erika Doss
Erika Doss (University of Notre Dame) presents the keynote address titled Screwball Regionalism: Grant Wood and Humor During the Great Depression at the 2016 Grant Wood Symposium held at the University of Iowa. Learn more at
00:00 - 58:02 Keynote Address
58:03 - 1:08:48 Question and Answer
How to Paint Oranges 8 Different Ways Part 1 LIVE: Discover Your Personal Art Style Painting Demo
Part 1 of 2 Thinking about trying to paint in a different style? Not sure what you favorite art style is and want to explore more? Come join professional artist Dena Tollefson in her art studio! Dena shows you how to explore your personal style and try out different art movements and art techniques This creative exercise can be done in oil paint, acrylic, gouache, watercolor, pastels, colored pencil and more. We will discuss how to discover your own personal art style by examining art movements of the past and present- trying them on for size. This video we will paint an orange in 8 different art styles.
Topics include art movements of realism, pointillism, cubism, fauvism, naturalism, minimalism, action painting, abstract expressionism and how you can paint in these styles to grow your creativity and develop your personal art style. Artists discussed- Rothko, Van Gogh, Serat, Gauguin, Matisse, Jackson Pollock, Grant Wood. This fun, relaxing video is a great way to unwind and increase your creativity. Tollefson is known for deep, vibrant colors in her signature painting technique.
Find Dena Tollefson's favorite art supplies at
As an Amazon Influencer, Tollefson receives compensation at no additional cost to you.
My technique can be done in either oil paint and acrylic paint.
Tollefson uses both palette knives and spoons to paint 3D, touchable, textured works of art on canvas.
Be sure to subscribe to her channel for more painting tips.
Learn more at her website
Tollefson is a Christian and her artwork is positive message, uplifting and healing. Collectors use her paintings for meditation, calming, and healing thought.
Artist’s Statement: I am a Colorist and am known for contemporary realism focusing on botanicals and landscapes, especially ponds, flowers and skies. My sky paintings are my idea of how God created Earth with one breath. Every morning and every evening He creates a new sky for us.
I employ vigorous brushwork and texture through the palette knife in my work so that people may experience along with me the feel of the painting. I find mosaics fascinating how the individual pieces all contribute to the whole- I want my paintings to have a similar idea where overlapping petals of paint all stand on their own and then contribute to the total.
I am always excited when someone connects with my artwork- I am delighted to share a vision of color and beauty with my collectors- Dena Tollefson
Dena Tollefson is an American artist whose bold contemporary paintings focus on joyful use of color, texture and movement, creating a low relief effect in paint- a hybrid between low relief sculpture, mosaic, and traditional painting.
She is known for floral painting, especially how to paint sunflowers.
Dena Tollefson (nee Dena Schaefer), born 1965, is a full-time, professional artist. Tollefson graduated from Iowa State University in 1988 and lived in Dallas Texas before returning to Iowa in 1991 where she developed her unique, highly textured painting style. She lives in Cedar Rapids, Iowa with her husband and family.
Tollefson is represented in galleries nationally in New Mexico, California, Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois.
Her Daubism body of work is a unique process she developed, where daubs of individually mixed paint are applied with a palette knife. The largest daubs are applied with a serving spoon, allowing ridges of paint which catch the light and appear to dance and scintillate as the viewer moves past the painting. Tollefson’s work focuses on botanicals, ponds, skies, and her Corn Series of work, biographies where people are depicted as ears of corn. Her work is highly tactile.
Museum, Corporate & Selected Private Collections
Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, Cedar Rapids, IA.
Farm Credit Services Omaha, NE
Terso Solutions Corporation Madison, WI
Iowa Department of Human Services, Cedar Rapids, IA
Genesis Hospital, Davenport, IA
Monsanto Corporation St Louis, MO
Ronald McDonald Facility/Unity Point Health Cedar Rapids, IA
Ruberry, Stalmack and Garvey Law Firm Chicago, IL
Marion Arts Council Marion, IA
Mercy Hospital Cedar Rapids, IA
PCI Cardiologists Inc., Cedar Rapids, Iowa
St Luke’s Hospice Cedar Rapids, IA
StarcomMediaVest CEO, Chicago, IL
St Luke’s hospital, Cedar Rapids, IA.
United Fire and Casualty Owner, Cedar Rapids, IA
Mableton Bank, Mabelton, GA
Lil’ Drug Stores CEO, Scottsdale, AZ
Two of Dena Tollefson's paintings are in the permanent collection of the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art. Her work hangs publicly and in private collections throughout the world.
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Cedar Rapids /ˈsiːdər ˈræpɨdz/ is the second largest city in Iowa and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, 20 miles (32 km) north of Iowa City and 100 miles (160 km) east of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city. Until massive flooding in 2008, the city's government was headquartered in the Veterans Memorial Building, near the Linn County Courthouse and jail on Mays Island in the Cedar River; Cedar Rapids was one of a few cities in the world, along with Paris, France, with governmental offices on a municipal island.
A flourishing center for arts and culture in Eastern Iowa, the city is home to the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library, the Paramount Theatre, Theatre Cedar Rapids, the African-American Historical Museum and Cultural Center of Iowa, and the Iowa Cultural Corridor Alliance. Cedar Rapids is an economic hub of the state, located in the core of the Interstate 380 Cedar Rapids/Iowa City Technology Corridor of Linn, Benton, Jones, Johnson, and Washington counties. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 126,326.
This video is targeted to blind users.
Attribution:
Article text available under CC-BY-SA
Creative Commons image source in video
Myth, Memories, and the Midwest: Grand Wood's Legacy
The University of Iowa continues Grant Wood’s legacy through the Grant Wood Art Colony. Wood is best known for painting American Gothic, one of the world’s most internationally recognizable paintings. Amidst the warm reception of his painting, he created a community of kindred spirits. Jim Hayes and Maura Pilcher will describe the current manifestation of Wood’s colony, including the history of Wood’s Iowa City home, the evolution of the Grant Wood Art Colony, and its current Fellows’ activities.
This lecture is sponsored by the University of Iowa Provost's Office of Outreach & Engagement. To view upcoming lectures in the Hawkeye Lunch & Learn lecture series visit outreach.uiowa.edu/HawkeyeLL.
American Gothic
American Gothic is a painting by Grant Wood in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. Wood's inspiration came from what is now known as the American Gothic House, and his decision to paint the house along with the kind of people I fancied should live in that house. The painting shows a farmer standing beside his spinster daughter. The figures were modeled by the artist's sister and their dentist. The woman is dressed in a colonial print apron evoking 19th-century Americana, and the couple are in the traditional roles of men and women, the man's pitchfork symbolizing hard labor, and the flowers over the woman's right shoulder suggesting domesticity.
It is one of the most familiar images in 20th-century American art, and has been widely parodied in American popular culture.
This video is targeted to blind users.
Attribution:
Article text available under CC-BY-SA
Creative Commons image source in video
Cedar Rapids Iowa City Job Rush Arts & Culture
It doesn't matter if you like country, heavy metal, rock, hip hop or jazz -- we have it here in the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City area. And, for a change of pace you can check out a Broadway show, local theater production and more!
You'll find live music and performances almost every night of the week at venues throughout Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, and all of Iowa's Creative Corridor.
Famous works by Grant Wood? Got 'em. Museums and exhibits on different cultures and customs? Uh, yes. Outdoor festivals, diverse performers, and internationally renown writer's program? It's all here.
There's plenty to experience and more to do here in Iowa's Creative Corridor.
Grant Wood's 125th Birthday - Joni Kinsey
Commemorate the 125th birthday of Grant Wood (1891–1942) and get a glimpse into what “Just Living” meant for Iowa’s most famous artist. The theme is particularly relevant to understanding and appreciating a painter who both devoted his career to celebrating just living in his art, especially ordinary day-to-day life in midwestern farms, small towns, and cities, and responded in a variety of ways to issues of social justice during the era of the Great Depression.
History Restored lecture series: North Wall
A special lecture series, “History Restored: Law & Culture in City Hall Murals” are underway as restorations continue on the historic murals adorning the walls of the Cedar Rapids City Council Chambers.
North Wall Lecture Series
Opening of the Midwest: Six Men and a Mural
Speakers: Mount Mercy University Archivist Kristy Raine, Iowa State University Curator Lea DeLong
This lecture captures the stories of the artists who formed the Cooperative Mural Painters Group and created the Treasury Relief Art Project (TRAP) mural series (1935-1937) seen at Cedar Rapids’ City Hall. The discussion, led by Raine and DeLong, explored the dynamics of Grant Wood’s Stone City Art Colony, which served as the catalyst for the group’s formation and their journey towards artistic and political independence. Featured are the cooperative’s founder Francis Robert (“Bob”) White, and mural artists Howard Johnson, Everett Jeffrey, Harry Donald Jones, and Don Glasell. The discussion also offered historical and artistic perspectives about the mural’s artists, the project’s inspiration and creation, as well as its community history.
Best of Living in Iowa 151
In this episode of the Best of Living in Iowa, we explore the life and times of Iowa artist Grant Wood. Explore a kidney transplant story that is more than skin deep. And follow one man's dream to celebrate the spirit of giving.
----
ABOUT LIVING IN IOWA
For 16 seasons, Living in Iowa was an omnibus television series that illustrated what it meant to be uniquely Iowan. Through compelling human interest stories, it provided snapshots of Iowans representing every walk of life. As part of its 50th anniversary, Iowa Public Television will revisit this popular series through The Best of Living in Iowa, a weekly program that features stories gathered from the archives of the original series. From this rich treasure trove of stories, viewers will relive moments from the past and be reminded of Iowa's unique heritage.
Cemar Acres - Cedar Rapids-Marion
Home movies from 1956/1957
copyright W.C.Petrie family
Best of Living in Iowa 139
In this episode of the Best of Living in Iowa, we'll take delivery on Iowa's depression-era post office murals, take a flight into the past on antique wings, and find out how doo-wop singer and insect exterminator, Jim Freeman, got the bug.
----
ABOUT LIVING IN IOWA
For 16 seasons, Living in Iowa was an omnibus television series that illustrated what it meant to be uniquely Iowan. Through compelling human interest stories, it provided snapshots of Iowans representing every walk of life. As part of its 50th anniversary, Iowa Public Television will revisit this popular series through The Best of Living in Iowa, a weekly program that features stories gathered from the archives of the original series. From this rich treasure trove of stories, viewers will relive moments from the past and be reminded of Iowa's unique heritage.
City of Literature (2012)
The oldest creative writing program in the country, and still regarded the best. More than forty Pulitzer Prize winners. North America's only UNESCO City of Literature. How did the midwestern college town of Iowa City, Iowa become the capital of creative writing in America? It's an unlikely story of literary ambition, academic innovation, and a promising young poet who became a cultural entrepreneur.
Featuring scholars, historians and artists, interwoven with noted authors discussing the writing life in ways hilarious and profound, City of Literature tells the story of a community of writers while providing a window into the creative process itself.