Synopses & Reviews
Is There Anyone who has not seen the sturdy Iowa farmer with his pitchfork and his thin-lipped wife or daughter? Ever since it met the public eye in 1930, the work titled American Gothic has elicited admiration, disgust, reverence, and ridicule--and has been reproduced hundreds of thousands of times, in every medium. Painted by a self-proclaimed bohemian who studied in Paris, the image was first seen as a critique of Midwestern Puritanism and what H. L. Mencken called the booboisie. During the Depression, it came to represent endurance in hard times through the quintessential American values of thrift, work, and faith. Later, in television, advertising, politics, and popular culture, American Gothic evolved into parody--all the while remaining a lodestar by which one might measure closeness to or distance from the American heartland. With broad perspective, acute insight, and humor, Steven Biel explores the strangely enduring life of America's most popular painting.
Review
"[B]rief but thoroughly researched....Biel details the various takes on the image from presidents to The Simple Life that have emerged, arguing that the parodies ultimately solidify American Gothic's status as an icon of American identity. In the process, Biel offers a blithe, engaging look at how a changing culture alters the meaning of its images to suit its needs." Anna Godbersen, Esquire (read the entire Esquire review)
Synopsis
With broad perspective, acute insight, and humor, Biel explores the strangely enduring life of America's most popular painting. Ever since it met the public eye in 1930, the work has elicited admiration, disgust, reverence, and ridicule, and it has been reproduced hundreds of thousands of times in every medium.