Rare Grant Wood Copper Sculpture Revealed at CRMA
Grant Wood, ‘Corn Cob Chandelier’, 1925-1926, copper, iron, paint, 94 x 32 x 42 inches, gift of John B. Turner II, 81.17.3.
Photograph courtesy of Cedar Rapids Museum of Art.
A new exhibit at the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art (CRMA) offers a rare glimpse into the mind of the artist Grant Wood, the famous artist behind American Gothic, unveiling a rare copper and iron corn chandelier.
On view through May 16, the exhibit launches a year-long celebration of the 175th anniversary of Iowa's statehood with a retrospective of Iowa’s most famous artist. This exhibition brings together works from both the CRMA collection as well as from private collections to celebrate Wood’s inquisitive mind. While most well-known for his iconic American Gothic, Wood was constantly exploring styles, techniques, and media, including copper and mixed metals. Rarely-seen copper and metalwork pieces, drawings, and studies offer a glimpse into Wood’s genius.
CRMA Executive Director Sean Ulmer said the exhibit showcases a different side of an artist everyone thinks they know.
“While American Gothic is the most famous American painting, Wood created it at the age of 39,” he says. “Grant Wood Revealed shares how Grant Wood evolved as an artist, from his childhood drawings — already quite sophisticated — to drawings for his high school yearbook, from early explorations in Impressionism to his impactful series of portraits of the later 1920s, from his initial forays into metalwork to a commission for the J. G. Cherry company.”
Grant Wood Revealed is a celebration of Wood’s artistic versatility and whimsy. There are many themes that resonate throughout Wood’s art and having such a large amount of his work on view at once allows visitors to make connections between seemingly disparate artworks and interpret the full scope of Wood’s career for themselves.Resources:
Also in this Issue:
- Preserving American History One Watch at a Time
- Rare Grant Wood Copper Sculpture Revealed at CRMA
- Rachel Rose Dazey: Connected Through Copper
- Studio G7: A Lineage of Copper
- Fort Worth’s Modern Art Museum Acquires New 7-foot Bronze