American Gothic by Grant Wood is one of the most famous paintings in the history of American art. The painting brought Wood almost immediate fame after it was first exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1930. It is probably the most reproduced and parodied work of art and has become a staple in American pop culture. The portrait of what appears to be a couple, standing solemnly in front of their Midwestern home, appears to be a simplistic depiction of rural America. As simple as it may seem, looking deeper into this image reveals something much more complex. The first thing to notice in this painting is how incredibly involved and realistic the brushwork is The couple's faces are rendered so delicately. Every wrinkle is visible and every strand of hair is in its place. The soft folds and patterns of their clothes, as well as the grain of the vertical boards of the house, are highly developed and reveal the Wood's incredible attention to detail. The man, in particular, looks almost photorealistic. There is, however, slight opposition to this intense realism. It can be seen in Wood's depiction of foliage. The trees that appear in the top left corner look like large green lollipops peeking out from the roof of the house. The viewer knows that trees do not naturally look like this. Wood depicted them as stylized and modern, similar to the trees seen in Seurat's Sunday Afternoon on the island of La Grand Jatte. After seeing more of Wood's works, it is clear that he adopted this depiction of trees in many of his paintings. One of the most important features of the painting is the use of repetition. At the front of the picture plane we see a three-pronged pitchfork. That same… medium of paper… is like that, because of modern conveniences like cars and the telephone, and he wanted to pay homage to his more primitive childhood. It's hard to say what exactly that means considering Wood left us very little to work with. He died prematurely and apparently had not said much about his intentions regarding the painting. They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If this were true, I would have to say that many people praise American Gothic every day. It is parodied in political cartoons in newspapers across the country and even on television. Almost anyone might recognize the solemn couple having been printed on everything from coffee mugs to mouse pads. Grant Wood's classic story of a farming family in rural Iowa has truly become a staple in modern American culture, as well as a much-revered regionalist masterpiece..