How to Read Paintings: American Gothic by Grant Wood

An emblem of American values or a satirical prod at puritanism?

American Gothic (1930) by Grant Wood. Oil on beaver board. 78 × 65.3 cm. Art Institute of Chicago, US. Image source Wikimedia Commons

The first thing that always draws my eye in this painting, American Gothic by the artist Grant Wood, is the similarity between the pitchfork and the stitched seams on the farmer’s blue denim overalls.