The Great Depression
The American Gothic painting was painted during the Great Depression, which lasted for over a decade from 1929 to 1941, when the World War II ended, and during the Early Modern Era. This painting was painted by Grant Wood in 1930. The Great Depression began in August of 1929 when the industrial economy crashed and the unemployment rates rose and families suffered.
The New Road
The “New Road” painting was created by Grant Wood in 1939, during the Great Depression and during the Early Modern Era. The ‘New Road’ painting is located at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
Grant Wood
Grant Wood was born on February 13, 1891 in Anamosa, Iowa, and died on February 12, 1942 in Iowa City, Iowa. He attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He was known for painting and his notable work is the “American Gothic” and the “New Road” paintings.
The New Deal
“The Migrant Mother” was photographed by Dorothea Lange in 1936. The print is located at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, New York. Florence Owens Thompson was a full-blooded Native American Cherokee Indian. She was born on September 1, 1903, and died on September 16, 1983 in Scotts Valley, California. She was married to Cleo Owens, who was her first husband, and they both sought work as farm and mill workers. When he died in 1931 from Tuberculosis, Florence was left with six children to support on her own by picking cotton and other crops. Her furrowed brow and hand placed on her chin, displays anxiety and worry about her duties as a mother to nurture and protect her children.
Dorothea Lange
Dorothea Lange was known for documentary photography and the famous photo of the “Migrant Mother” of Florence Owens Thompson. Dorothea Lange was born May 26, 1895 in Hoboken, New Jersey, and died on October 11, 1965 in San Francisco, California.
https://www.federalreservehistory.org/essays/great-depression
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grant_Wood
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_of_the_Art_Institute_of_Chicago
https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.61105.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Gothic
https://smarthistory.org/seeing-america-2/dorothea-lange-migrant-mother-sa
https://www.history.com/news/migrant-mother-new-deal-great-depression
Agnes' Blog 
I like that you chose to write about (and give some background to) very famous works of art from this time. I think these artists did a wonderful job at portraying the inexplicable strife of the time. They all emit feelings of fear, anxiety, and the very real possibility of death. The hues in Grant Wood’s paintings seem to give the effect of a layer of gloom that surrounds the subjects. Thank you for sharing!
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