The Quintessential American Painting

Since I was a young boy, I have had a very odd relationship with the American Gothic painting by Grant Wood.

Believe it or not, the first time I became aware of this masterpiece was while watching a rerun of The Dick Van Dyke Show in the 60s. Rob Petrie accidentally buys a worthless painting of a clown at an auction, and then discovers that there is another painting underneath. After removing part of the "upper" painting, it is clear that the painting below looks a lot like the American Gothic; however, the subjects are oddly smiling! It turns out that it is a painting by Good, an imitator of Wood, and the painting on top was by Artanis—the alias Frank Sinatra(!) used for his paintings so they would be judged for their artistic worth and not for his celebrity. (Hunter Biden, where are you?)

The next time I encountered it was in MAD magazine. The kid next door went off to college, so his parents emptied out the junk from his room and gave it to my parents to give to me. The most significant items were a G.I. Joe and an issue of Mad that had a well-done parody of the painting. I can't remember exactly what it looked like, but it gave me the idea that you could copy great art and put your own personal spin on it.

So, I set out to do just that. I got the paints and canvas and commenced to work. Suffice it to say, I had no talent for painting. I was devastated. As an aside, I turned to drawing paper money on the mechanical drawing table my father bought me. I was quite good, even copying a $100,000 bill with the portrait of Woodrow Wilson (YUCK!) to near perfection. But don't report me to the Department of the Treasury. I wasn't THAT good. (Although my parents were a bit concerned that I'd become a counterfeiter!)

The next time I encountered the painting was while playing the game Masterpiece from Parker Brothers. It's a wonderful game and my family played it many times. It has a deck of paintings with random values (back then, in the early 70s, if I remember correctly) between $50,000 and $1 million, as well as two FORGERIES that are worthless. The idea is to accumulate the highest-value collection of paintings. I distinctly remember trying to obtain that painting, no matter what its worth, just because of my affinity for it! 🤣

I've always wanted to see the original, but I've never had the occasion to be in Chicago. (It's at the Art Institute of Chicago). Maybe someday.

For various reasons, this painting has recently entered my consciousness. It strikes me as the quintessential American painting. Why?

At the painting’s center is a pitchfork. As a farm tool, it stands for the work that sustains life—discipline, order, and pride in surviving without outside help. As a potential weapon, it also reads as a boundary and a warning: this home will be defended (the Second Amendment—the God-given right to self-defense). Paired with the man's direct stare and the woman's guarded glance, the fork embodies a quintessentially American self-reliance—simultaneously homage to labor and personal responsibility and an assertion of personal autonomy.

What's more American than that?