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For the 50th episode of Reading the Art World, host Megan Fox Kelly speaks with Wanda Corn, Professor Emerita at Stanford University, about her latest book, “The Couple with the Pitchfork: American Gothic from Easel to Icon,” published by Princeton University Press.
Grant Wood’s “American Gothic” is one of the most recognizable paintings in the world. Yet its two famously stern figures have been interpreted in remarkably different ways since the painting first appeared in 1930. Was Wood celebrating Midwestern America or satirizing it? And how did a painting that was nearly rejected by the jury at the Art Institute of Chicago become an enduring cultural icon?
Corn, who has studied Grant Wood for more than fifty years, traces the painting’s extraordinary history, from its creation and early reception to its countless appearances in advertising, political cartoons, photography, and popular culture. Along the way, she reveals the humor, ambiguity, and unexpected history behind an image so familiar that we rarely stop to look at it closely.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Wanda M. Corn is the Robert and Ruth Halperin Professor Emerita in Art History at Stanford University, where in 1980 she became the university's first permanent appointment in the history of American art. Her books include "The Great American Thing" and "Georgia O'Keeffe: Living Modern." She has chaired the Advisory Committee for Historic Artist Homes and Studios, an affiliate program of the National Trust, since 2000.
PURCHASE THE BOOK https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691286341/the-couple-with-the-pitchfork
PARTNER
This episode is sponsored by Brown & Brown, whose fine art specialists advise museums, private collectors, artists, galleries, and artist-endowed foundations around the world on insurance and risk management. Their team combines art-world knowledge with experience navigating complex risks, including loan and consignment agreements, storage, transit, and conservation. Brown & Brown works across the fine art insurance market to help customers secure solutions tailored to their collections and objectives. Learn more at BBrown.com/fineart
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"Reading the Art World" is a podcast featuring live interviews with leading authors and writers on important new art books. Megan Fox Kelly is an art advisor and past President of the Association of Professional Art Advisors who works with collectors, estates and foundations.
Music composed by Bob Golden
