American Gothic by Grant Wood - Chicago, IL - Philatelic Photographs on Waymarking.com

With the possible exception of James McNeill Whistler’s ‘Portrait of the Artist’s Mother,’ commonly called ‘Whistler’s Mother,’ there is no more recognizable image in American art (or one that’s more parodied) than Grant Wood’s ‘American Gothic.’ (Although technically, I suppose, ‘Whistler’s Mother’ is not an American painting, since Whistler painted it while he was living in England.)

The painting’s name derives from the architecture of the house in the background, namely Carpenter’s Gothic - a reference to the Gothic-style window. Wood saw the house while driving around Eldon Iowa looking for inspiration. He made a quick sketch but returned later with his oil paints to capture the image more completely. He then added the man and woman using his sister Nan and his dentist as models.

Grant Wood entered the painting in a contest sponsored by the Art Institute of Chicago in 1930. The painting came in third place, and today, as often happens, no one remembers the paintings that came in first and second. The Art Institute of Chicago ended up purchasing the painting and it’s been in their collection ever since.

Stamp Issuing Country: United States Date of Issue: 27-Aug-1998 Denomination: 32c Color: multicolored Stamp Type: Single Stamp Relevant Web Site: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
To post a visit log for this category, you must visit the actual site of the waymark. Post at least one photo that you personally took of the site if at all possible. If you cannot provide a photo for some reason, your visit will still be welcome.

You do NOT need to be a stamp collector to visit the waymark site, nor do you have to provide a photo of the stamp. Just having a copy of the stamp in question, however, is not sufficient; you must personally visit the site.

Recent Visits/Logs:

There are no logs for this waymark yet.