One of America’s best known paintings, American Gothic (1930), was painted by Grant Wood (1892-1942), a painter best known for the traditional paintings of his home-state, Iowa. American Gothic was the result of a movement known as regionalism. Regionalism was a movement in 1930s America that was a reaction and resistance to Europeans attempt to depict American life. Painters, like Grant Woods used the rural Midwest as their subject. American Gothic has well represented this movement, and has lived on to be one of America’s most favorite paintings. It is loved for the countless interpretations and its ability to stimulate people’s imaginations. Personally, after studying 1930, the most plausible interpretation would be in reference to the Great Depression. The man’s immovable demeanor, the woman’s troubled expression, and along with their black clothing, leads to the interpretation that although their farm is failing, they will not leave, but are willing to face any ordeal.
In order to move towards plausible interpretations of American Gothic, the first move is to only observe the details, to gather what it’s made of. It’s a fairly simple picture with nothing extremely out of the ordinary. The scene is that of an older man firmly holding a pitchfork; he is wearing glasses and traditional 1930s farm clothes, overalls and a white shirt. The black jacket that he is wearing over his farming attire is one aspect of the picture that stands out. To the man’s right is a middle-aged woman, she unlike the man is not looking at the viewer. Like the man, she is wearing traditional 1930s attire, and her dress is black as well, with a simple pattern of white dots repeating on the dress. Directly behind the couple is a white house. The window that is in between their heads is gothic in style, unlike the other windows on the house. Over the man’s left shoulder is a red barn, amongst rounded green trees, against a clear blue sky. The woman clearly has a look of worry on her face, perhaps even fear. She remains tight-lipped, standing firmly behind the man. The man’s posture is that of a statue, similar to the woman, he is tight-lipped and has a protective and proud stance about him. The picture is fairly detailed. For example the wrinkles in the man and woman’s face can be seen, and also the pattern on the woman’s dress is fairly intricate and detailed, similar to the pattern of the curtains in Whistler’s Mother. Overall, the details and observations of American Gothic are typical of 1930s rural America.
This portrait was painted in 1930, around the time of the Great Depression. In the context of that time period, the make-up of the painting point towards the significant event of that time. During this time, many farmers were evicted from their farms, leaving them no choice but to move to the city to join the rest of the unemployed trying to find work. Farming had been in drought since the 1920s and the drought seen in the country left many farmers no choice but to uproot their families and leave. American Gothic can be interpreted as a man and woman facing the possibility of being forced from their land. Taking one glance from the man and it is evident that he has no intentions of leaving his farm. Behind him, the middle-aged woman looks to be not as confident as the man. She looks worried and is unfocused, for she is not looking at the viewer, but rather off in the distance, hoping for a positive change to come. The man simply looks as though he refuses to leave.
The man uses the pitchfork as sort of a prop to give the viewer an understanding of his position. He is gripping the pitchfork, his livelihood, in his right hand; the pitchfork could not be pried from his hands. The pitchfork is a powerful prop in this painting. Due to the fact that the man is wearing overalls, there’s a red barn behind him, and he is holding a pitchfork, you can assume he is a farmer; however without the pitchfork he may just appear an old man standing in front of his house, with a red building behind him, it could be difficult to conclude that he is a farmer. As stated earlier, it appears that the pitchfork could not be pried out of his hands, and the man’s face adds more to the interpretation. He is standing like a statue; his face has a look of determination and concealed anger, explaining the tight lips and stern look into the viewer.
Moving from the man’s qualities, the fact that he and the woman are clad in black could represent their emotional and economic state, during the Great Depression. The black clothing is odd for farmers to wear, especially for men. Farmers are outside all the, mostly working in the hot sun. Generally, when people work outside, they avoid wearing dark clothes, because the dark absorbs the sun’s heat. Farmers, like the one in this painting wore long-sleeve white shirts, which reflect the sun, and protect against harmful rays. The overalls, worn buy miners and cowboys were worn for their durability and multiple pockets. It would make no sense for any farmer to wear black while working outside in the sun.
Although they are in their traditional farming attire, they’ve put on a sort of dark “cloak” that is covering their traditional attire and way of life. This interpretation of the painting is plausible because of the demeanor of the man and woman and their dark clothing, in connection with the time period, which was the Great Depression. It is an assumption to label black as a color of mourning or depression. In this society black is worn to funerals, which is a sad event. However, in many cultures, black may be a color of celebration, it all depends on the cultural context. In 1930s America, and even still today, many preachers, like catholic priests wear all black, as the Puritans did. These are simple, solemn, and convicted people, they chose black because it is a neutral, unadorned color. Over 70 years after 1930 though, black is seen as a professional, still neutral, but stylish color. This interpretation of American Gothic all depends on cultural and historical context. Perhaps in another culture the man and woman look as they are getting ready to go to a wedding.
However, this painting is not made up of obvious observations like the previous ones. Grant Woods put in several other details that aren’t as obvious as the others, that may even make a more significant point than the Great Depression interpretation. It might have only taken someone from the 1930s only a few seconds to interpret American Gothic the way it has been interpreted here. There are several “hidden” qualities of the American Gothic. First, the pattern on the woman’s black dress is also the same pattern seen in the Gothic window, but none of the other traditional windows. Perhaps to understand one of the meanings of this, you need to understand Gothicism. When looking at Gothic architecture, it is massive, dark, and mysterious. The fact that the woman’s dress pattern is in the window could signify some type of mystery in the house. Second, there is another pitchfork in the picture; it can faintly be seen on the man’s overalls and white shirt, parallel to the pitchfork he is holding. It is like the pitchfork and the farmer’s attire are linked, like they go hand in hand. A point that Grant Woods could have been trying to make is America is not what it appears. You have traditional looking farmers, with a barn, a simple house, and a pitchfork, however the pattern behind the mysterious Gothic window and the man and woman’s black attire kind of drapes the otherwise traditional painting in mystery. The Roaring Twenties was a time filled with personal fulfillment and economic and political stability, and then everything fell through. Perhaps Grant Woods was trying to depict how American culture is not everything that it appears to be.
Whether it is a subtle message about America, the Great Depression, or any other interpretation, American Gothic is one of those paintings that will always be apart of American culture for its diverse meanings and ability to make viewers formulate their own meanings. Interpretations can vary among cultures, and overtime. Forming the interpretation of American Gothic was based during the time period it was in, 1930, in the midst of the Great Depression, and perhaps on Grant Woods was trying to take a subtle swipe at America. Nevertheless, the man and woman’s demeanor and facial expressions show they are standing strong against something threatening, and the untraditional black clothes reveal some sort of depressing circumstance. Whatever the circumstances of the painting, Grant Woods left it open for a wide-range of interpretations.
