Artsy Day

Cedar Rapids has quite the art scene down here.

Grant Wood is one of my ten favorite American artists. Norman Rockwell is my favorite. Grant moved here at age 3 or 4 when his father died and lived mostly in this town until he died at age 51 of pancreatic cancer. So he was mostly a town boy and not a farm boy and he liked to draw things back on the farm when he was young.

He studied art design in Minneapolis for 3 summers after graduating from high school.

Later he studied in France, Germany, and Italy.

This is his portrait of his mother. They lived together for most of their lives. They say their relationship could be contentious.

He had tons of friends coming over and she got tired of answering the door. Behind this man is a map of Iowa.

When his sister's husband was in the hospital getting cured of tuberculosis, she stayed with them too.

Once a fire broke out and all three of them had some injuries.

This door has a clock on it. When Grant left he would use the clock arms to indicate if he was gone, where he had gone, when he would be back, or if he was in the bath tub. He had his bathtub sunk into the floor of the hayloft of the carriage house he lived in next to a mortuary. I need a door like this.

After seeing the art museum I walked over to that carriage house and watched a movie and got a tour of the upstairs.

The tour guide was very knowledgeable.

For a time he taught school. He made this bench that sits outside of the principal's office. It's pretty funny. He had students cut out designs out of tin based on a template he gave them. He took all those pieces of ten, lined them up in vertical rows, and used them to cover his radiator pipes. He also had students paint the wood on his floors. I asked if that was ethical. I was told it was ethical at that time.

They say he was a favored teacher.

He quit teaching because he made more money doing portraits. He started a theater company in Cedar Rapids too.

Grant Wood lead an influential life. One of his early jobs was making designer jewelry.

Too bad he had to die so young. He was married once to an opera singer. When she traveled to California to visit friends, he broke up with her via letter. They were married only a short time. He had no children.

The man in the picture was his dentist. The woman is his sister.

This one showing the rolling hills and farmland of Iowa is my favorite. The docent said there was much art available to see at the Stewart Library at Coe College. So I walked over there too. I decided not to take any pictures as I had taken so many already. I walked back to my car based on pure memory thank you very much. I drove to a park to look at the Cedar River before heading back to my hotel.