Grant Wood came to Eldon in the late 1920s with fellow artist and Eldon native, John Sharp. He was inspired by the contrast of the modest little one-and-one-half-story frame house with its(as he described it)"pretentious"Gothic style windows. There is one in each gable end. He sketched the house on the back of an envelope and used it as the backdrop in his world-renowned 1930s painting American Gothic. His sister, Nan, and his dentist, Dr. B H. McKeeby, posed as the sour-faced couple. Wood intended the couple to represent a ypical small town resident and his daughter, but most interpret them as man and wife. Since completion, Grant Wood's 1930 painting American Gothic has become a critically acclaimed work that continues to enjoy enormous popularity. It also has become an American icon and is the model for a countless number of commercial art parodies such as posters, cards, and souvenirs. The painting hangs in the art Institute of chicago• Grant Wood came to Eldon in the late 1920's with fellow artist and Eldon native, John Sharp. He was inspired by the contrast of the modest little one-and-one-half-story frame house with its (as he described it) “pretentious” Gothic style windows. There is one in each gable end. He sketched the house on the back of an envelope and used it as the backdrop in his world-renowned 1930's painting American Gothic. His sister, Nan, and his dentist, Dr. B. H. McKeeby, posed as the sour-faced couple. Wood intended the couple to represent a typical small town resident and his daughter, but most interpret them as man and wife. Since completion, Grant Wood's 1930 painting American Gothic has become a critically acclaimed work that continues to enjoy enormous popularity. It also has become an American icon and is the model for a countless number of commercial art parodies, such as posters, cards, and souvenirs. The painting hangs in the Art Institute of Chicago