Grant WoodAmerican, 1891–1942January
May one see it?
Yes, receiving visitors
On public display.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the painting
One of the last paintings Wood created before his untimely death from liver cancer, January has a decidedly nostalgic cast. According to the artist, the painting was "deeply rooted in the memories of my early childhood on an Iowa farm. . . . it is a land of plenty here which seems to rest, rather than suffer, under the cold." One sign of activity, in the form of rabbit tracks, infiltrates the otherwise dormant scene. Wood’s composition teems with abstract design, most notably through the rhythmically geometric array of snow-laden corn shocks that seem to recede infinitely into the distance.
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Particulars
- Accession number
- 2002.2
In the catalog
Sources
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Image: Wikimedia Commons — Public domain
Meanwhile, in the life of Grant Wood
The whole life1930s
Helps Curry and Benton return to the Midwest
John Steuart Curry and Thomas Hart Benton, who with Wood are the artists most associated with Regionalism, returned to the Midwest thanks to his encouragement; he helped them find teaching positions at colleges, Curry in Wisconsin and Benton in Missouri.
1934–1941
A colleague, Lester Longman, tries to get Wood fired
Wood was a closeted homosexual, and a colleague at the university, Lester Longman, made an unsuccessful attempt to have him fired on explicit moral grounds and for his advocacy of regionalism. The university administration dismissed the allegations.
1934–1941
Mentor to students, among them Elizabeth Catlett
At the university Wood supervised mural-painting projects, mentored students including Elizabeth Catlett, produced works of his own and became a key part of the university’s cultural community.
1935–1938
Marriage to Sara Sherman Maxon
From 1935 to 1938 Wood was married to Sara Sherman Maxon; friends considered the marriage a mistake for him.
1940
Hired to depict the filming of “The Long Voyage Home”
In 1940 Wood and eight other prominent American artists were hired to document and interpret dramatic scenes and characters during the production of “The Long Voyage Home”, a film adaptation of Eugene O’Neill’s plays.
12 February 1942
Died
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