In Praise of Boyhood Heroes
Winning first place in the same competition that Grant Wood did, almost a century earlier, comes with a certain level of personal satisfaction.
Everyone has a hero. When I was growing up in the 1970s and 80s, my friends idolized sports heroes like Hank Aaron, Roger Staubach or Joe Montana. I admired those guys too, but I also had a hero in the art world: Grant Wood. Wood was a small town Iowa boy like me, who became one of the most well-known artists in America.
'Tornado Watch, Fall', before the awards were announced.
Yesterday, I learned that my painting entitled ‘Tornado Watch, Fall’ was awarded first place at the 2018 Iowa State Fair Fine Arts competition, in the oil painting category. I was grateful just to have my work accepted, so to win first place was a shock. However, I was humbled when I remembered the history of Iowa’s favorite artist.
Eighty-nine years ago, Grant Wood won the same competition in Des Moines. Encouraged by his success at the Iowa State Fair in 1929, Wood painted a little work in 1930 he called ‘American Gothic’. He took a chance and submitted it to a competition at the Art Institute of Chicago. ‘American Gothic’ took second place in Chicago, with a cash prize of $300. But Wood’s painting captivated America. It would go on to become the second most-recognized portrait in the world, after the Mona Lisa. To this day, nobody remembers the painting that won first place in Chicago.
Over the years, other notable Iowa artists, such as Marvin Cone of Cedar Rapids, and Daniel Rhodes of Fort Dodge, won prizes for their work at the Iowa State Fair.
Dollie Bothwell of Moorhead, Iowa is the Superintendant of the 2018 Iowa State Fair Fine Arts Salon. In the box are 75 ribbons, to be awarded to the winners of the Adult Division in Fine Arts.
Grant Wood went on to win the Iowa State Fair Fine Arts competition 4 years in row. He developed an American realist modern art movement called ‘Regionalism’. I would never dream of comparing myself to my childhood hero—but I take a certain level of satisfaction in winning first place in the same competition that Grant Wood did, almost a century earlier.
Over 1 million people visit the Iowa State Fair annually. The Fine Arts Salon is one of the most popular venues at the fair—and more Iowans experience art at the fair than at any other venue in the state. In fact, for many generations, art at the Iowa State Fair was the only art Iowans might see all year.
I am very honored to have my work chosen for this historic competition, and very proud to have my name on the same winner's list as my boyhood hero.