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Grant Wood is regarded as one of the primary artists associated with American Regionalism. Wood was born and raised in Iowa; although he remained in his home state for the majority of his career, he traveled abroad in France and Germany to study different artistic styles while gaining appreciation for Iowa’s landscape. Wood is known for his unique sense of style and humor in his works, which typically depicts rural landscapes and life during the Great Depression. Wood’s best known work is American Gothic (1930). In the later half of his career, Wood began working with the Associated American Artist (AAA) group to produce a series of lithographs that were sold in catalogs and magazine advertisements for around $5. This organization helped promote American art and artists in the Great Depression and allowed access to affordable art for middle class citizens. Woods' career was cut short at the age of 50 due to his death by liver cancer in 1942.Label Type
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January is Wood’s first lithograph relating to a calendar month. It is part of an uncompleted series showing landscapes during each month of the year; however, he only completed four months. January shows a winter landscape scene with rows of corn shocks and rabbit tracks in the snow. In an unusual practice, Wood created the lithograph first in 1937, then drawings in 1938, and lastly, in 1940 before his death, he created an oil painting of this print. Interestingly, the oil painting of January is a reversal of the print.