Nan Wood Graham (July 26, 1899 – December 14, 1990) was an American artist and art teacher. She was the sister of painter Grant Wood. She is best known as the model for the woman in her brother's most famous painting, American Gothic (1930).
Graham was born on July 26, 1899, on a farm near Anamosa, Iowa. Her parents were Francis M. and Hattie Wood and she had three older brothers, including painter Grant Wood. She was 16 months of age when her father, who was a farmer, died. She then moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, with her mother and brothers, moving six times within Iowa in all during her mother's life. As a child, Graham enjoyed painting, including on glass. Once the money earned from the farm was depleted, her brother Grant supported Graham and their mother financially. Graham attended high school in Cedar Rapids and then business college. Upon graduation, she attended nightly art school classes and was an art supervisor assistant within Cedar Rapids public schools.[1]
She married real estate broker and investor Edward Graham in 1924. Her own artwork included sewing, making collages out of tissues, and painting glass. In 1938, Graham was featured in a Cedar Rapids Gazette story about her designs and painted glass. She exhibited her artwork in Iowa art salons and New York. The animal pictures that she painted and showed in New York were often used on ornaments, screens, decorative panels, play-rooms, and more.[1] Graham wrote a story about herself in an issue of the magazine Coronet.[1][2][3]
Graham traveled throughout the United States with her husband and then they later traveled worldwide. They decided to live in Riverside, California, and Edward entered the real estate business there. After her husband died in 1967, Graham moved into a house that was close to their old one. She later made around 20 scrapbooks of Grant's life which were microfilmed by the Archives of American Art within the Smithsonian Institution.[1] In 1984, she was nearing blindness and moved to a nursing home, later dying there on December 14, 1990.[4][5] In 1993, her memoir, My Brother, Grant Wood, was posthumously published by the State Historical Society of Iowa.[6]
In 1928, Graham's brother Grant Wood returned after a working trip to Munich, Germany, and he felt inspired to paint a picture of a cottage that was in Eldon, Iowa.[7] Graham posed as the woman and their dentist, Byron McKeeby, posed as the male.[1] People who saw the painting assumed that the portrayed couple was married, but Graham said that her brother intended it to be a picture of a farmer and his daughter. Grant stretched out Graham's face in the picture so that no one would be able to recognize her. Shortly after the painting was finished, the farmers and their wives nearby thought that they were being ridiculed. Those people became fans when they realized that Graham posed for the painting.[1]
In 1977, the magazine Hustler showed a topless version of the painting. Graham was afraid that people would think that she authorized it.[4]
Referencesedit
^ abcdefW. Nattrass Hanft, Ethel (1983). Remarkable Iowa Women. River Bend Publishing. pp. 52–55. ISBN0960516220.
^"Story of Grant Wood's 'Portrait of Nan' Told". The Gazette. May 26, 1945. p. 3 Part 1. Retrieved September 6, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
^"Story of Grant Wood's 'Portrait of Nan' Told". The Gazette. May 26, 1945. p. 3 Part 2. Retrieved September 6, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
^ ab"Nan Wood Graham, 91, Dies". The Washington Post. December 17, 1990. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
^"Nan W. Graham 91, Model for Daughter In 'Gothic,' Is Dead". The New York Times. AP. December 17, 1990. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
^Marling, Karal Ann (October 1994). "My Brother, Grant Wood (review)". The Annals of Iowa. 53 (4): 392–393. doi:10.17077/0003-4827.9860.
wood, graham, july, 1899, december, 1990, american, artist, teacher, sister, painter, grant, wood, best, known, model, woman, brother, most, famous, painting, american, gothic, 1930, 1977bornnan, wood, 1899, july, 1899anamosa, iowa, united, statesdieddecember,. Nan Wood Graham July 26 1899 December 14 1990 was an American artist and art teacher She was the sister of painter Grant Wood She is best known as the model for the woman in her brother s most famous painting American Gothic 1930 Nan Wood GrahamNan Wood Graham in 1977BornNan Wood 1899 07 26 July 26 1899Anamosa Iowa United StatesDiedDecember 14 1990 1990 12 14 aged 91 Menlo Park California United StatesOccupation s Artist art teacherRelativesGrant Wood brother Contents 1 Personal life 2 American Gothic 3 References 4 Further reading 5 External linksPersonal life edit nbsp Portrait of Nan by Grant Wood 1933Graham was born on July 26 1899 on a farm near Anamosa Iowa Her parents were Francis M and Hattie Wood and she had three older brothers including painter Grant Wood She was 16 months of age when her father who was a farmer died She then moved to Cedar Rapids Iowa with her mother and brothers moving six times within Iowa in all during her mother s life As a child Graham enjoyed painting including on glass Once the money earned from the farm was depleted her brother Grant supported Graham and their mother financially Graham attended high school in Cedar Rapids and then business college Upon graduation she attended nightly art school classes and was an art supervisor assistant within Cedar Rapids public schools 1 She married real estate broker and investor Edward Graham in 1924 Her own artwork included sewing making collages out of tissues and painting glass In 1938 Graham was featured in a Cedar Rapids Gazette story about her designs and painted glass She exhibited her artwork in Iowa art salons and New York The animal pictures that she painted and showed in New York were often used on ornaments screens decorative panels play rooms and more 1 Graham wrote a story about herself in an issue of the magazine Coronet 1 2 3 Graham traveled throughout the United States with her husband and then they later traveled worldwide They decided to live in Riverside California and Edward entered the real estate business there After her husband died in 1967 Graham moved into a house that was close to their old one She later made around 20 scrapbooks of Grant s life which were microfilmed by the Archives of American Art within the Smithsonian Institution 1 In 1984 she was nearing blindness and moved to a nursing home later dying there on December 14 1990 4 5 In 1993 her memoir My Brother Grant Wood was posthumously published by the State Historical Society of Iowa 6 American Gothic edit nbsp American GothicIn 1928 Graham s brother Grant Wood returned after a working trip to Munich Germany and he felt inspired to paint a picture of a cottage that was in Eldon Iowa 7 Graham posed as the woman and their dentist Byron McKeeby posed as the male 1 People who saw the painting assumed that the portrayed couple was married but Graham said that her brother intended it to be a picture of a farmer and his daughter Grant stretched out Graham s face in the picture so that no one would be able to recognize her Shortly after the painting was finished the farmers and their wives nearby thought that they were being ridiculed Those people became fans when they realized that Graham posed for the painting 1 In 1977 the magazine Hustler showed a topless version of the painting Graham was afraid that people would think that she authorized it 4 References edit a b c d e f W Nattrass Hanft Ethel 1983 Remarkable Iowa Women River Bend Publishing pp 52 55 ISBN 0960516220 Story of Grant Wood s Portrait of Nan Told The Gazette May 26 1945 p 3 Part 1 Retrieved September 6 2020 via Newspapers com nbsp Story of Grant Wood s Portrait of Nan Told The Gazette May 26 1945 p 3 Part 2 Retrieved September 6 2020 via Newspapers com nbsp a b Nan Wood Graham 91 Dies The Washington Post December 17 1990 Retrieved September 4 2020 Nan W Graham 91 Model for Daughter In Gothic Is Dead The New York Times AP December 17 1990 Retrieved September 5 2020 Marling Karal Ann October 1994 My Brother Grant Wood review The Annals of Iowa 53 4 392 393 doi 10 17077 0003 4827 9860 Grant Wood Paintings Bio Ideas Further reading editMcDonald Julie Jensen 2000 Grant Wood and Little Sister Nan Essays and Remembrances Iowa City Penfield Press ISBN 978 1 57216 038 5 External links editNan Wood Graham s scrapbooks Iowa Digital Library Nan Wood Graham at Find a Grave Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Nan Wood Graham amp oldid 1176029210, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
