Grant Wood American Gothic Unmatted Print

Print developed from Grant Wood’s American Gothic, 1930, from The Art Institute of Chicago’s collection.

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. 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.