The painting “American Gothic” depicts a farm couple in front of their simple dwelling. During the almost 100 years since this work was painted, the imagery of the man’s overall and pitchfork have invited imitation, parody, and reference to everything from musical numbers in plays to décor in breweries.
The painting was a minor painting of an artist who, with other painters, worked during a time of national suffering in the 1930s. A trio of artists known as the Regionalist Triumvirate—Grant Wood, Thomas Hart Benton, and John Steuart Curry—painted people and local scenes during the Great Depression.
