Sunday, 15 November 2020

1554) American Gothic Painting, Niue Island: Fifth Painting in the Coin Series titled "Treasures of the World Coin Series": Year of Coin issue: 2020 (with date of issue engraved as 2019):

1554) American Gothic Painting, Niue Island: Fifth Painting in the Coin Series titled "Treasures of the World Coin Series": Year of Coin issue: 2020 (with date of issue engraved as 2019):

The "American Gothic Painting" Coin is the fifth coin in the exciting "Treasures of the World Coin Series", released by Niue Island.

The painting by Grant Wood features the White House in the background with the "Gothic window" in the upper storey and Grant's sister and their dentist modelling in the "style of people", Wood thought should live in the house.

About American Gothic Painting:

American Gothic is a 1930 painting by Grant Wood in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Grant was inspired to paint what is now known as the "American Gothic House" in Eldon Iowa, along with "the kind of people Wood fancied should live in that house".

It depicts a farmer standing beside his daughter - often mistakenly assumed to be his wife. The painting is named for the house's architectural style.

The figures were modelled by Wood's sister Nan Wood Graham and their dentist Dr. Byron McKeeby. The woman is dressed in a colonial print apron evoking 20th Century rural Americana while the man is wearing overalls covered by a suit jacket and carries a pitchfork.

The plants on the porch of the house are mother-in-law's tongue and beefsteak begonia, which also appear in Wood's 1929 portrait of his mother "Woman with Plants".

The inspiration for the painting:

When Wood was driven around the town of Eldon, by a young painter from Eldon, John Sharp, looking for inspiration, Wood first sketched the house on the back of an envelope, though he did not immediately regard the house as beautiful

He thought it was "a form of borrowed pretentiousness, a structural absurdity, to put a Gothic-style window in such a flimsy frame house". He classified the house as one of the "cardboardy frame houses on Iowa farms" and considered it "very paintable"

After taking permission of the Jones family (present owners of the house), he made a sketch the next day in oil on paperboard from the house's front yard.

American Gothic is one of the most familiar images of 20th Century American art and has been widely parodied in American popular culture.

From 2016 to 2017, the painting was displayed in Paris at the Musee de l"Orangerie and in London at the Royal Academy of Arts in the first showing outside the USA.

Decades later, "American Gothic" is considered to be an American icon.

About the house that inspired the painting:

American Gothic House, also known as "Dibble House" is a house in Eldon, Iowa designed in the Carpenter Gothic style with a distinctive upper window. 

Grant Wood observed the house only twice in his lifetime, made only an initial sketch and completed "American Gothic" at his studio in Cedar Rapids. 

The house was constructed in 1881-82 and was first owned by Eldon resident Charles Dibble and remained a private residence until the late 20th Century.

After a 30 year preservation effort the house was given to the "State Historical Society of Iowa".

In 1974, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Presently, the house receives around 20,000 visitors every year. Visitors are encouraged to view the house from the outside and have their photos taken in similar jackets and aprons seen in the painting.

The adjacent American Gothic Centre completed in 2007, contains exhibits about the painting, artist Grant Wood and the community around the house.

Each June, the city of Eldon holds its "Gothic Days Festival," a celebration of the painting and rural life in Eldon in the 1930s and tours of the first floor of the home.

How the painting became an American icon:

Wood entered the painting in a competition at the Art Institute of Chicago, where the painting was deemed to be a "comic valentine", but he was granted a Bronze medal and a $300 prize.

The image was reproduced in several newspapers. Several Iowans were up in arms over "the pinched, grim faced, puritanical Bible thumpers" and a "caricature of Iowans".

Nevertheless, art critics had favourable opinions about the painting and it was seen as a critical depiction of and a satire of rural small-town life.

With the deepening of The Great Depression not long after the painting was made, American Gothic came to be seen as a steadfast "American Pioneering Spirit".

Several parodies sprung up based on the painting after the Great Depression including on Broadway "The Music Man", movies like - " The Rocky Horror Picture show" and television shows - "Green Acres", The "Dick Van Dyke Show" and "Spongebob SquarePants (FarmerBob)".

The Commemorative Coin:

On the Reverse of the $1 (One Dollar) Silver Coin depicts a square shaped painting "American Gothic" by Grant Wood in the frame. 

On the Obverse is an effigy of Queen Elizabeth II facing right, designed by Ian Rank-Broadley, whose initials "IRB" appear below the Queen's neck.

The peripheral inscriptions are - ELIZABETH II. NIUE ISLAND. 1 DOLLAR. 2019". Also seen on this face is the Metal Composition "Ag 999" and the mintmark "MW".

The specifications of this Silver Coin are:

Theme/Title: American Gothic Painting ; Country of issue: Niue; Denomination: $1 (One Dollar); Year of issue: 2020; Metal Composition: .999 Fineness Silver (Ag); Diameter/Size: 40.0 mm x 40.0 mm; Weight: 31.10 grams or 1.0 Oz; Shape: Rectangle; Edge: Plain; Coin Quality: Proof; Minted By: Mint of Poland; On Behalf Of: Niue Island; Mint mark: "MW"; Mintage: 999 pieces; Special techniques: Colour, partially gilded, Special shape; Designer: (Obverse) Ian Rank-Broadley.


The Presentation Box/Case in which the Silver Coin on the American Gothic Painting  is housed. It is accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity (COA).



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