5/16/2007

My Grammy met Grant Wood

Filed under: — Aprille @ 3:03 pm

I was over at my Grammy and Pop-Pop’s on Sunday for Mother’s Day, and I learned the coolest thing.  When Grammy was little girl, she spent a lot of her time at her grandmother’s house in Viola, Iowa.  At one point, someone (I’m not sure if it was Grammy or a sibling or cousin) said, “There’s a man in the yard.”

The answer?  “He’s an artist.  Don’t bother him.”

She even has a picture on her fridge of Grant Wood teaching his art students on her grandmother’s lawn.  It’s so awesome.  I love Grant Wood.  I was driving Denny to the airport today, and the twisting roads and poofy green trees made me think of Grant Wood’s paintings.  He captures that feeling of springtime in eastern Iowa so well.

This painting looks more like summertime, but you get the idea.

4 responses to “My Grammy met Grant Wood”

  1. Tana says:

    My mom told us the same story and printed the picture for us. On Sunday we drove by the house in Viola, it is still there. Cool family history.

  2. Aprille says:

    Tana: Hey, I bet she got the picture from your mom, then. It’s one of those things you’d think we would have heard about before, you know?

  3. christi says:

    Being an Iowan, I was excited to see you mention GW. My fav painting of his hangs in the Iowa governors mansion. It’s a painttting of fall leaves. We have a “new” GW, Alan Lampe who shows and wins often at our State Fair. here’s a link to his site:
    http://home.mchsi.com/~a.lampe/

    Thanks for sharing your brush with greatness!

  4. Dot says:

    Great story and website! I grew up near Viola and attended grade school there. I knew many people as it was a community of 150 people at that time. Would love to know the name of your grammy. I’m sure I knew her/knew of her. There is a picture that has been published with Grant Wood and his artists in Viola. I recognize the yard because of the houses in the background. I wonder if this is the yard of your grammy. Best of luck!

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