Kids enjoy a tour of AGHC!

Last week the American Gothic House Center gave tours to Eldon’s Living Hope Preschool. On Thursday morning, 18 three-year-olds quietly entered the building in two straight lines and sat down on the floor, anxious to learn about, well… pretty much anything. They were like little sponges, absorbing facts about Grant Wood, the American Gothic House, and the famous painting. With just a slight prompt throughout the morning, they would excitedly repeat these facts in answer to my questions.

After pointing out the painting’s repeated shapes (CIRCLES!! STRAIGHT LINES! DIAMONDS!!), establishing the characters (My dad is a farmer! My mom is a farmer, too!), and talking about how great it is that a famous artist like Grant Wood visited their town and made a painting of the house here, the kids patiently sat through an animated film. Then, they got to make their own art.

Given one or two crayons and a line drawing of the American Gothic House, the three-year-olds proceeded to color. Some were meticulously staying inside every line, holding crayons tightly between tiny fingers and pressing hard so the wax shone on the paper. Others took a more abstract approach, loosely scrawling across the page without concern for the house shape below. The artist in me couldn’t help but wonder how growing up exposed to an art icon such as the American Gothic House will affect these mini-humans. With teachers like those at Living Hope, prompting the kids to come back with their families and getting excited along with their students, I expect at least a few artists in the bunch.

Some interesting articles came up this week and last about kids and their artistic pursuits. A story in the Daily Nonpareil Online describes students in Council Bluffs, home of a Wood mural, studying Grant Wood. An exhibition spotlighting children’s art in Mason City, as reported by the Globe Gazette, featured a parody of American Gothic. Ever heard anyone describe an abstract painting with the phrase “My child could have done this.”? Take a look at this study comparing children’s art to the art of famous abstract painters—the results may surprise you!

Grant Wood was an artist from early childhood, and his sister Nan was, too. As you’ll find out when you visit our new exhibit, Nan Wood Graham: Beyond the Farmer’s Daughter, when Nan was a girl she won an art contest and received a small cook stove for a prize. Young Nan's classic childlike enthusiasm caused her to faint from the thrill of winning! I'd bet that she and Grant would be equally thrilled at the enthusiasm kids today are showing for American Gothic.

I hope to see you tomorrow night (6-7pm) at the exhibit premier!

Molly Moser
Administrator
American Gothic House Center
theamericangothichouse@gmail.com

Only a couple of weeks left to sign up for the American Gothic House Center’s annual bus trip to discover Grant Wood country! You can view a detailed itinerary of the trip on our website. The itinerary has links to all the collections we’ll be visiting. Call me at 641.652.3352, or respond to this email to e collections we’ll be visiting. Call me at 641.652.3352, or respond to this email to reserve your seat!

The American Gothic House Center strives to become financially independent through gift shop revenue, sponsorships, and by establishing an endowment fund. Funds raised in this campaign will be used to match the Iowa Cultural Trust Endowment Challenge Grant and will become endowment funds to support the Center's annual operations. As a subscriber to the weekly newsletter, you have already shown support for the American Gothic House Center. I invite you to strengthen your role in the valuable experience we provide the community by making a contribution to our fund drive. Click here to give your tax deductible gift, or head to our website for more information. Thank you to all who have donated so far!

Exhibit Opening!

Good morning! I’m happy to report last Saturday’s spring sale and art & poetry exhibition inside the American Gothic House carried our visitor count over 100 for the day. That is our highest daily attendance so far this year--a great jump start to the new season!

Our next event is the opening of this year’s exhibit, Nan Wood Graham: Beyond the Farmer’s Daughter. The exhibition brings deserved focus to the life of American Gothic’s female model, Grant Wood’s sister and fellow artist Nan Wood Graham. The new display features an interactive audio component and Nan Wood Graham’s only original oil painting, on loan from the State Historical Society of Iowa.

Nan was a loyal advocate for her brother Grant, protecting his public image after his death by screening his would-be biographers, attending art openings in his honor, and keeping a watchful eye on the multitude of American Gothic parodies. She eventually wrote and published a biography of her brother titled My Brother, Grant Wood. Nan’s insights into the childhood and artistic process of Iowa’s beloved artist provide a unique look at the artist—closer than we can normally come when studying art history.

Though Nan Wood Graham is most well-known for her role in American Gothic , she led a full and exciting life of her own. Nan’s aunt once told her, “One artist in the family is enough.” Nan did not pursue a career as an artist, but continued to study art and practice creative hobbies. While recovering from tuberculosis in Oakdale Sanitarium, Nan learned leather tooling and later won prizes for her talents. Grant even invited her to teach at his artist colony in Stone City. Nan mastered the difficult technique of reverse painting on glass, and her glass paintings were exhibited in New York. She made one oil painting, Boarding House Bath. The painting was likely inspired by the astounding characters Nan and her husband Ed lived with in various rooming houses around California.

Nan’s personality and delightful sense of humor shine brilliantly in an audio interview from the 1970s. Clips of this interview are available at the touch of a button in new exhibit. While reading through exhibit text, visitors will find reference to audio clips where they can listen to Nan tell more about the topic.

Nan Wood Graham visited Eldon on several occasions and was an honored guest at the city’s annual Gothic Days celebration. Many locals met Nan during her lifetime, exchanged letters and gifts, and have photographs of her in their personal albums. A few of these items, as well as correspondence with Nan, will be on display.

I invite you to join us for the premier of this interactive new exhibit! Enjoy refreshments and conversation with other Wood enthusiasts at the opening on Friday, April 1 from 6-7 pm. Hope to see you there!

Molly Moser
Administrator
American Gothic House Center
theamericangothichouse@gmail.com

Don’t forget to sign up for the American Gothic House Center’s annual bus trip to discover Grant Wood country! You can view a detailed itinerary of the trip on our website. The itinerary has links to all the collections we’ll be visiting. Call me at 641.652.3352, or respond to this email to e collections we’ll be visiting. Call me at 641.652.3352, or respond to this email to reserve your seat!

The American Gothic House Center strives to become financially independent through gift shop revenue, sponsorships, and by establishing an endowment fund. Funds raised in this campaign will be used to match the Iowa Cultural Trust Endowment Challenge Grant and will become endowment funds to support the Center's annual operations. As a subscriber to the weekly newsletter, you have already shown support for the American Gothic House Center. I invite you to strengthen your role in the valuable experience we provide the community by making a contribution to our fund drive. Click here to give your tax deductible gift, or head to our website for more information.

An Eldon Artist?

As I continue researching connections between Grant Wood and today’s artists, I come across more and more notable artists with ties specifically to southeast Iowa and Eldon. A few weeks ago one community member brought to my attention a painter named John Mulvany.

John Mulvany was born in Ireland in the1840s and moved to the US with his family during the following decade. His history is not well documented (most sources even disagree about his birth year, which doesn’t bode well for information about the life that followed), so I’ve pieced together what I can from correspondence, newspaper clippings, and online resources.

Mulvany studied at the Academy of Munich and returned to the US to begin his career as an artist. He progressed to painting what was considered the highest level of subject matter, historical group portraiture. Mulvany traveled and lived around the Midwest. Much of his work depicted scenes from the Civil War and from Irish history. Mulvany’s most famous painting is Custer’s Last Rally, completed in 1981 at an astonishing size—11 x 20 feet! In order to accurately depict the scene, the artist spent two years painting and researching at the battlefield and on Souix reservations. See a lithograph of the painting here (click on the image to enlarge it for a better view).

John Mulvany’s ancestors, also originally from Ireland, kept a saloon in Eldon until the Temperance Movement. Some family members lived in Ottumwa. His painting titled Trial of a Horse Thief is of particular interest to those living in our area. The preliminary painting is owned by the Szymanski Gallery in Pasadena, California. A booklet describing the piece was printed by the gallery in 1978 and named each of the characters in the painting. Mulvany did not make up this dramatic scene—he painted a specific trial at a specific location, including portraits of key personalities. According to the gallery, the trial took place in Kansas.

Despite the gallery’s confidence in naming the characters in the artwork, the Kansas State Historical Society is unable to verify the information in the booklet. Correspondence in 1987 between AGHC contributor Helen Glasson and Anne Weber-Scobie, a descendant of John Mulvany, suggests the trial may have taken place in Iowa. Mulvany's connections here, maybe the trial even took place in Eldon! (Take a second look at the painting—recognize anyone you know?) Weber-Scobie is an artist with an interest in family history. And why not, with relatives like the successful John Mulvany?

I hope to see you this weekend at the American Gothic House Center’s spring sale (most items 10% off, some up to 50% off!) and at the art and poetry exhibition inside the American Gothic House!

Molly Moser
Administrator
American Gothic House Center
theamericangothichouse@gmail.com

Don’t forget to sign up for the American Gothic House Center’s annual bus trip to discover Grant Wood country! You can view a detailed itinerary of the trip on our website. The itinerary has links to all the collections we’ll be visiting. Call me at 641.652.3352, or respond to this email to e collections we’ll be visiting. Call me at 641.652.3352, or respond to this email to reserve your seat!

The American Gothic House Center strives to become financially independent through gift shop revenue, sponsorships, and by establishing an endowment fund. Funds raised in this campaign will be used to match the Iowa Cultural Trust Endowment Challenge Grant and will become endowment funds to support the Center's annual operations. As a subscriber to the weekly newsletter, you have already shown support for the American Gothic House Center. I invite you to strengthen your role in the valuable experience we provide the community by making a contribution to our fund drive. Click here to give your tax deductible gift, or head to our website for more information.

Spring, is that you?

Visitor numbers are on the rise again, and it appears that the cold may finally be loosening its grip on us! I’d like to recap the big events that took place in the quiet months of winter and remind you of what spring has in store for the American Gothic House Center.

With the help of many wonderful volunteers, we were able to make some cosmetic and organizational improvements at the Center. We’ve been taking inventory of our collection. We'll be able to use our objects more effectively by rotating what's exhibited in our display cases. This process consists of photographing, numbering and organizing all the objects in our collection, and entering information about each into a database.

Matching hangers have unified the appearance of our costume rack, and a new panel above the rack shows visitors how to set up their own parody photo. A grant from the Central Iowa Tourism Region helped fund this new panel. Check it out on facebook!

We are grateful to the Wapello County Foundation for a grant which will provide us with a point-of-sale system for the gift shop, simplifying check out for volunteers and customers. The new system will make reporting about gift shop inventory and sales much simpler and will be synchronized with our soon-to-be launched online shop.

As you know from last week’s newsletter, we also received a grant from the Iowa Cultural Trust to begin establishing an endowment fund for the Center. Funds raised in this campaign will be used to match the Iowa Cultural Trust Endowment Challenge Grant and will become endowment funds to support the Center's annual operations. There is a link to donate below for your convenience. (It works this time, I promise.)

This winter, the American Gothic House Center hosted several successful events. In December we had a gingerbread house decorating activity for area kids. We also participated in the Tour of Homes, a traditional event in Eldon in which several homes and businesses are chosen to be decorated and open for tours. Last month we had our annual Grant Wood Birthday Soup Smorgasboard, which fed about 75 people. Thank you again to all who help make our events a success!

The next event on our calendar is the spring cleaning sale on Saturday, March 19. All non-consignment items will be 10% off, with select items up to 50% off. Don’t miss the great deals that only come around once a year!

Those who visit between 1 and 5 on the 19th are invited to attend an art exhibition inside the American Gothic House. Priscilla Coffman, a motivated volunteer and board member, will have poetry on view on the second floor of the house. When I'm not writing newsletters or weeding the Center's flowerbeds, I am using a paintbrush. Lots of my artwork will be hanging in the house on the 19th. All are welcome to join us for the sale and exhibition that day!

Other upcoming events include our new exhibit opening at the Center on April 1 (More news about this very exciting exhibit will come next week!) and our annual bus trip on April 16. And it’s not too soon to start thinking about Gothic Days in June! Get sign-up information for our5K, bike ride, and art contest on our website!

Molly Moser
Administrator
American Gothic House Center
theamericangothichouse@gmail.com

Don’t forget to sign up for the American Gothic House Center’s annual bus trip to discover Grant Wood country! You can view a detailed itinerary of the trip on our website. The itinerary has links to all the collections we’ll be visiting. Call me at 641.652.3352, or respond to this email to e collections we’ll be visiting. Call me at 641.652.3352, or respond to this email to reserve your seat!

The American Gothic House Center strives to become financially independent through gift shop revenue, sponsorships, and by establishing an endowment fund. Funds raised in this campaign will be used to match the Iowa Cultural Trust Endowment Challenge Grant and will become endowment funds to support the Center's annual operations. As a subscriber to the weekly newsletter, you have already shown support for the American Gothic House Center. I invite you to strengthen your role in the valuable experience we provide the community by making a contribution to our fund drive. Click here to give your tax deductible gift, or head to our website for more information.

Help us reach our goal!

Dear Readers,

Each week, I enjoy learning about Grant Wood and passing my discoveries on to you. I have received many personal responses to these weekly updates over the past few months, and I appreciate the investment of your time and energy in reading my messages and replying. Many of you are Eldon residents who support and volunteer at the Center. Some readers are past visitors, Grant Wood enthusiasts, or those who simply take an interest in art, history, and the world around them.

The American Gothic House Center is a permanent resource for art and cultural education. Our mission is to integrate the puzzle pieces of American Gothic by linking the house that inspired the painting to the impact of American Gothic and Grant Wood on American art. Those of you following this newsletter have seen the far-reaching effects of Wood, from teaching popular artist Isabel Bloom to leading a movement which gave us great American artists like Andrew Wyeth and Norman Rockwell.

Over the past three years, the American Gothic House Center has attracted travelers and educational institutions from Iowa and Missouri. In all, the Center has hosted nearly 35,000 people from all 50 states and 41 foreign countries. Annual visitor numbers are steadily rising, showing that our mission envelops a treasured part of history. The Center organizes bus tours, lectures, children’s events and school tours, teaching appreciation of precious Midwest cultural heritage to a variety of audiences.

The American Gothic House Center strives to become financially independent through gift shop revenue, sponsorships, and by establishing an endowment fund. We are the grateful recipient of an Iowa Cultural Trust Endowment Challenge Grant, which will match funds we raise to help start an endowment. As a subscriber to the weekly newsletter, you have already shown support for the American Gothic House Center. I invite you to strengthen your role in the valuable experience we provide the community by making a contribution to our fund drive. If you would like, you can use the donate button on our website to give your tax deductible gift.

The endowment campaign is the beginning of an ongoing drive to ensure the long term sustainability of the American Gothic House Center. Funds raised in this campaign will be used to match the Iowa Cultural Trust Endowment Challenge Grant and will become endowment funds to support the Center's annual operations. An endowment is a permanent, persistent resource which provides funding to expand during successful years and offers security in challenging times. Establishing an endowment to assist with operating expenses is the responsibility of any responsible nonprofit organization. With your support the American Gothic House Center can continue to attract visitors and provide education for many years to come!

Thank you for helping us reach our goal.

Molly Moser
Administrator
American Gothic House Center
theamericangothichouse@gmail.com

Don’t forget to sign up for the American Gothic House Center’s annual bus trip to discover Grant Wood country! You can view a detailed itinerary of the trip on our website. The itinerary has links to all the collections we’ll be visiting. Call me at 641.652.3352, or respond to this email to reserve your seat!