The Models Who Were Used In 'American Gothic' Standing By The Painting

American Gothic is a painting by Grant Wood, in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. Wood's inspiration came from a cottage designed in the Gothic Revival style with a distinctive upper window and a decision to paint the house along with 'the kind of people I fancied should live in that house.'

The painting shows a farmer standing beside his spinster daughter (not his wife, as so many parodies and references assume). The figures were modeled by the artist's dentist and his sister. Here they are, standing by the painting.

(via Nag on the Lake)