Grant Wood

Grant Wood (1891-1942) was an American painter. His best known work is the 1930 piece American Gothic, depicting an impassive rural farmer and his wife (modeled by dentist Dr. Byron McKeeby and Wood's sister Nan). The image has become an iconic representation of the American midwest, and the target of countless visual parodies. Such spoofs retain the basic composition of the painting, with the wife on the left and the farmer typically clutching a pitchfork. Several Muppet productions have followed suit.