Paper

Student Artwork Guide

Spring is in

Grant Wood, 1936

Name Class Date
Grant Wood, Spring is in (1936). Public domain. See this canvas under a moving light: the drawing, the true colour under the varnish, the bare pigment

The facts

Artist
Grant Wood originaluniqueart.com/en/artists/grant-wood/
Artist’s dates
1891 – 1942
Painted
1936
Movement
Regionalism American painters turning away from Europe to paint their own small towns and farmland.

Copyright This work is in the public domain. Grant Wood died in 1942; copyright lasts 70 years after the artist’s death, so it ended in 2012.

Source: OriginalUniqueArt.com — accessed Oct. 8, 2026

Spring is in — Grant Wood Part 1 · The artwork

In context

Spring is in — Grant Wood

When was this painted?

  1. 1890
  2. 1900
  3. 1910
  4. 1920
  5. 1930
  6. 1940

Row above: the years. Row below: how old the artist was at the start and at the end of each span — 0 at birth, 51 at death.

Painted when the artist was 45. The artist lived to 51. 64 of the 96 dated works by this artist in our catalogue came earlier.

Shaded: the lifetime of Grant Wood (1891–1942) ▲ this work, 1936 every dated painting, decade by decade

First works: up to 1924 Main working years: 1924–1938 Late works: from 1938

Those three bands split the works this catalogue has a date for into a first quarter, a middle half and a last quarter. They are not the artist’s complete output: a thin stretch may be a gap in the record rather than a quiet spell. The same years with the artist’s life laid along them

Compare with

Pick one work above: name two things it shares with this one, and one thing that's different.

More works to set beside this one: originaluniqueart.com/en/art/similar/grant-wood-spring-is-in-8XY5X5-en/

Colours

Measured from the image

    Main colour

    Espresso #40271f

    Catalogued palette

    • #40271F
    • #67593E
    • #BDB48A
    • #898454

    These colours inside the artist’s whole palette Find other paintings by colour

    Palette
    Earthy The dominant colour family in the image.
    Main colour name
    Espresso
    Intensity
    Balanced How saturated and varied the colours are, from a single toned-down hue to many bright ones.
    Contrast
    Bold How much the colours differ in lightness and saturation across the picture.
    Harmony
    Balanced Harmony How well the colours work together, from clashing to fully unified.
    Brightness
    Balanced How light or dark the picture reads overall, from deep shadow to bright highlight.
    Saturation
    Balanced Soft How pure and strong the colours are, from near-grey to fully vivid.

    Where in the world is this painting looked at?

    • under 1%
    • 1–3%
    • 3–8%
    • 8–20%
    • 20% and over
    This painting alone has too few recorded visitors to map, so the plate reads every work by Grant Wood over the last twelve months — 63 countries in all. Where these figures come from

    The ten leading countries

    1. 1 France 17.5%12,100 visits
    2. 2 Italy 15.3%10,600 visits
    3. 3 Spain 11.1%7,700 visits
    4. 4 United States of America 6.6%4,600 visits
    5. 5 Japan 5.8%4,000 visits
    6. 6 Germany 4.9%3,400 visits
    7. 7 China 4.5%3,100 visits
    8. 8 South Korea 2.6%1,800 visits
    9. 9 Denmark 2.2%1,500 visits
    10. 10 Brazil 2.0%1,400 visits
    11. · 53 other countries 27.5%19,100 visits

    Find the three darkest countries on the map. Is the museum that keeps this painting in any of them? Write down one reason people far away might look at it.

    The 20 most looked-at works by Grant Wood

    1. 1 American Gothic, 1930 87.8%82,100 visits
    2. 2 Sketch for house in American Gothic, 1930 2.0%1,900 visits
    3. 3 Daughters of Revolution, 1932 1.4%1,300 visits
    4. 4 Spring in the Country, 1941 1.3%1,200 visits
    5. 5 Fall Plowing, 1931 1.2%1,100 visits
    6. 6 The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere, 1931 0.4%400 visits
    7. 7 Spring In Town, 1941 0.4%400 visits
    8. 8 Osier, 1920 0.4%400 visits
    9. 9 Portrait of Nan, 1933 0.3%300 visits
    10. 10 The Appraisal, 1931 0.3%300 visits
    11. 11 Woman with Plants, 1929 0.3%300 visits
    12. 12 Arbor Day, 1932 0.3%300 visits
    13. 13 Family Doctor, 1940 0.3%300 visits
    14. 14 Tame Flowers, 1939 0.3%300 visits
    15. 15 Death on the Ridge Road, 1935 0.3%300 visits
    16. 16 The Product checker, 1925 0.2%200 visits
    17. 17 The Sentimental Folk Song, 1940 0.2%200 visits
    18. 18 Sultry Night, 1939 0.2%200 visits
    19. 19 The Birthplace of Herbert Hoover, 1931 0.1%100 visits
    20. — Spring is in, 1936 this painting 0.0%0 visits

    Together these works take 97.7% of all the attention this artist's paintings received over the last twelve months. The catalogue holds 98 works by this artist, of which 38 were looked at at least once. This painting has not been looked at yet in that time — it closes the list without a rank. The same counts, month by month

    Bars measure attention, not quality. Pick the work at the top and this one: name one thing that might make a painting famous beyond how well it is painted.

    Source: OriginalUniqueArt.com — accessed Oct. 8, 2026

    Spring is in — Grant Wood Part 2 · In context

    Artist and museum

    Artist

    Grant Wood

    Born in Anamosa, United States of America

    Early Life and Career

    Grant DeVolson Wood, an American painter, was born on February 13, 1891, in rural Iowa. His life changed dramatically after the death of his father in 1901, when his mother relocated the family to Cedar Rapids. Wood began his artistic journey as an apprentice in a local metal shop before enrolling at the Handicraft Guild in Minneapolis in 1910—an art school notable for being run by women and focused on the Arts and Crafts movement.

    Artistic Influences and Style

    Wood’s art was deeply influenced by Jan van Eyck, the 15th-century Flemish master renowned for his precise and luminous technique. This meticulous clarity became a hallmark of Wood’s own style, best exemplified in his most celebrated work, American Gothic. As a leading figure in the American Regionalism movement—a style emphasizing the realistic depiction of rural and small-town America—Wood developed a uniquely American voice that combined European craftsmanship with Midwestern authenticity.

    Notable Works and Contributions

    American Gothic (1930): A defining image of 20th-century American art, often compared to Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and Edvard Munch’s The Scream for its cultural resonance. The Stone City Art Colony (1932): Founded by Wood near his hometown, the colony provided vital support for artists during the Great Depression. University of Iowa School of Art (1934–1941): As a teacher, Wood inspired a generation of artists to find beauty and meaning in the familiar landscapes of the American Midwest.

    Legacy and Later Life

    Grant Wood passed away on February 12, 1942, at the age of 51, due to pancreatic cancer. His estate was left to his sister, Nan Wood Graham—immortalized as the female figure in American Gothic. Today, his personal belongings and many of his works are preserved at the Figge Art Museum in Davenport, Iowa. Wood’s devotion to portraying the dignity of everyday American life continues to influence artists and scholars worldwide.

    Where to read more

    Find this online

    QR code linking to the download page for Spring is in

    originaluniqueart.com/en/art/download/grant-wood-spring-is-in-8XY5X5-en/

    Cite this artwork

    MLA
    Wood, Grant. Spring is in. 1936, https://originaluniqueart.com/en/art/grant-wood-spring-is-in-8XY5X5-en/
    APA
    Wood, Grant (1936). Spring is in [Painting]. https://originaluniqueart.com/en/art/grant-wood-spring-is-in-8XY5X5-en/
    Chicago
    Grant Wood. Spring is in. 1936. https://originaluniqueart.com/en/art/grant-wood-spring-is-in-8XY5X5-en/
    Harvard
    Wood, Grant (1936) Spring is in. Available at: https://originaluniqueart.com/en/art/grant-wood-spring-is-in-8XY5X5-en/

    Source: OriginalUniqueArt.com — accessed Oct. 8, 2026

    Spring is in — Grant Wood Part 3 · Artist and museum

    Look closely

    Spring is in — Grant Wood

    Look closely

    Answer in your own words. There are no wrong answers here — only answers you can explain.

    1. What catches your eye first, and why?
    2. Which colours or shapes create the mood — and what is that mood?
    3. Our catalogue files this work under: rural landscape, american midwest, farm scene. Do you agree? What would you add, or take away?
    4. Look back at American Gothic (1930), earlier in this guide. Name two things it shares with this work, and one that is different.
    5. Regionalism: American painters turning away from Europe to paint their own small towns and farmland. Where can you see that in this work?

    Your response

    Write a short paragraph about this artwork. Use the facts from the earlier parts of this guide, and your answers above.

    Source: OriginalUniqueArt.com — accessed Oct. 8, 2026

    Spring is in — Grant Wood Part 4 · Look closely

    Questions & Answers

    Is "Spring is in" typical of what Grant Wood usually created?

    Grant Wood's recurring themes include regionalist american art, midwestern rural life, flemish influence seen, depiction of simplicity, american identity theme, wood's signature style, response to modernity, critique of progress; "Spring is in" focuses on rural landscape, american midwest, farm scene, regional art, vintage painting, grant wood style, iowa countryside.

    Can I see an X-ray view of "Spring is in" by Grant Wood?

    The X-Ray page of "Spring is in" by Grant Wood is an interactive viewer that lets you slide through eleven optical layers of the artwork's image, including an X-ray style view.

    How does the style of "Spring is in" relate to its creator's era?

    "Spring is in" by Grant Wood is placed in the Regionalism movement, within the Modern era of its creator.