ARTIST IN OVERALLS: The Life of Grant Wood

by John Duggleby ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1996

The painting American Gothic has become so ubiquitous that children may associate it with cartoons or cereal boxes without realizing its artistic origins. This biography of the painting's creator, Grant Wood, introduces readers to a shy artist who worked in the style now called Regionalism to represent his midwestern surroundings. Wood's dreamy nature didn't always fit with the rigors of Iowa farm life into which he was born. Duggleby includes many anecdotes from Wood's childhood, to help readers understand the boy's struggle to become an artist. The biography is supplemented with plenty of large black-and-white and full-color reproductions of his art, which serve as illustrations for Wood's life story. Photos are used, too: A particularly interesting one is of the two models for Wood's most famous painting. The only oddity in this volume is a tacked-on ending: three pages of instructions for drawing chickens. Bland art instructions read like filler in an otherwise eloquent volume.

Pub Date: April 1, 1996

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Chronicle

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1996

Categories: CHILDREN'S