John Sharp and the CCC

John Sharp was the native Eldon artist who so fortunately gave Grant Wood a tour of the town during his visit in 1930. Without John Sharp giving Grant Wood that tour one day after lunch he may have never seen this small white frame house with the beautiful gothic window. As John Sharp served such a simple, but very integral role in Grant Wood painting American Gothic, I thought I would share some current research on John Sharp’s life and art.

I recently met Kathleen Duxbury, who is studying artists involved in the CCC. What is the CCC you might ask? The CCC stands for the Civilian Conservation Corps, a program put forth by Franklin Delano Roosevelt as part of his New Deal programs. The CCC was established to help create jobs that would put young men to work in conserving the United States’ natural resources. You can learn more about the CCC program by visiting Kathleen’s website at this link: http://newdealblog.com/about-2/who-and-what-was-the-ccc-2

So how exactly does an artist fit into a group aimed at conservation? The government had created an art program called the Public Works of Art Program, which hired artists and sent some to depict life at CCC camps. John Sharp happened to be one of the artists hired to travel to CCC camps to draw and paint life in the camps. Several of his works now reside at the Eldon Carnegie Public Library, and two of his works are currently on display at the American Gothic House Center.

You can read more about John Sharp and his work in the CCC (as well as Kathleen’s account of her visit to Eldon!) on here blog at this link: http://newdealblog.com/archives/1336

Holly Berg

Administrator
American Gothic House Center
theamericangothichouse@gmail.com

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!

AGHC on the Road and Antique Cars

Saturday the American Gothic House Center made the trek to West Branch, Iowa to have a booth at Hoover’s Hometown Days. Though a bit warm, the weather was much better than it had been, which made for a great turnout at the festival!

My volunteer Ashlee, and myself, spoke to nearly 400 festival goers, most of who had not been to visit the American Gothic House Center. Visitors to the booth could get their picture taken in the face cutout and we also passed out flyers and coloring sheets to those who stopped by. We also had a board with pictures of people who have had their picture taken in front of the house so future visitors could get ideas for their visits! A “coloring station” was also set up where young visitors could stop and take a break to do some coloring!

Tomorrow the Cedar Rapids Antique Car Club will be touring the American Gothic House Center. Cars should begin arriving around 9:30 am, so be sure to stop by and visit the center and see some cool cars at the same time!

Holly Berg

Administrator
American Gothic House Center
theamericangothichouse@gmail.com

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!

AGHC goes funky

Last week the Ottumwa Chamber of Commerce hosted their 70th Annual Golf Classic. The American Gothic House Center was fortunate enough to share a booth at hole 13 with the Ottumwa Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. Representatives from AGHC and the Ottumwa CVB braved the heat to meet with golfers as they stopped by the booth before teeing off. Since the golf outing was 70s-themed, the normal American Gothic fare came with some funky twists.

As golfers stopped by they were welcome to have their picture taken in the American Gothic face cut-out, which was decked out in 70s flare. Check out these pictures of some of the golfers.

Representatives at the booth wore overalls with tie-dye shirts, and the usual apron was adorned with some flashy chains and hair bands. Those who stopped by could learn more about the American Gothic House Center and events in the Ottumwa Area. The Ottumwa CVB created a list of 70 things to see and do in Wapello County. If you would like to have a list stop by the American Gothic House Center and pick one up!

In other news, KHQA Channel 7 in Quincy, Illinois recently did a story about the American Gothic House Center as part of their Points of Interest series! You can view the piece at the link below:

http://www.connecttristates.com/news/story.aspx?id=644280

Holly Berg

Administrator
American Gothic House Center
theamericangothichouse@gmail.com

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!