Happy Birthday, Grant Wood!

Fruits of Iowa: Boy Milking Cow, 1932

Grant Wood was born on this day in 1891 in Anamosa, and then moved to Cedar Rapids when he was ten. Specifically, he moved into the house at 318 14th St NE, which is across the street from Coe! 

Photo Credit: Mound View Neighborhood Association

In high school, Wood befriended Cedar Rapids native artist and Marvin Cone, and the two were close throughout their lives. Wood taught painting at the University of Iowa School of Art while Cone taught here at Coe for over 40 years. 

You can view many of Wood's paintings (as well as Cone's) in the galleries on the first and second floor of the library! Click here to learn more about other paintings on Coe's campus!

Marvin Cone and his legacy at Coe College

Ever wondered about the art galleries that are bathed in sunlight, right inside the front doors of the library? The paintings in these galleries belong to Marvin Cone, a native of Cedar Rapids who graduated from Coe College in 1914 and was on faculty at Coe from 1919 to 1960. In fact, Cone started the Art Department at Coe! He began as a French professor and established the Art Department in 1934.

Marvin Cone is known as one of the most important Iowa artists, as was his close life-time friend, Grant Wood. Grant Wood is known most famously for his “American Gothic.” The Winnifred M. Cone galleries, named after Cone’s wife, feature 60 works of art by Marvin Cone. You can read more about the artworks in the library here.

Marvin Cone is also currently being featured at a solo exhibition at the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art; the show is up until January 20, 2012. You can find out more information about the exhibition here.

Pictured above: “Old Quarry, Stone City”, 1936, oil on canvas

--Laura, Head of Audiovisual