6 minute read
American Gothic
American Gothic
Dr. Byron H. McKeeby: Dentist and Reluctant subject of American Art
William J, Maloney, D.D.S.
Nighthawks” by Edward Hopper, “Campbell’s Soup Cans” by Andy Warhol and “Whistler’s Mother” by James Whistler are among the most celebrated works of art in America. However, the most iconic of acclaimed pieces of American art is “American Gothic” by Grant Wood.
American Gothic became synonymous with the steadfastness and determination of America’s heartland, which would lead America through the trials and tribulations of the Great Depression. These qualities were personified by a male and a female at the center of the painting. The male model with the determined gaze grasping a pitchfork was Dr. Byron Henry McKeeby, a dentist.
Grant Wood was born in 1891 and is considered to have been a Midwestern Regionalist painter. European artists, at the time, favored abstraction and modernism. Wood’s style was realistic, with recognizable, yet common subjects, as is evident in American Gothic.[1] Wood celebrated Midwestern values in this painting while imbuing it with subtle ambiguities, which he refused to ever address directly and most likely contributed to it achieving iconic status. Wood passed away one day shy of his 51st birthday due to pancreatic cancer.
Right Time, Right Place
Wood had intended for some time to do a portrait exemplifying life in the rural Midwest. In the summer of 1930, he found himself in Eldon, Iowa, for an art exhibit. Edward Rowan, the director of the Cedar Rapids Little Art Gallery, was conducting a form of experiment, bringing art to remote rural areas and thought Eldon would be the perfect location.
Wood became enchanted by a house in Eldon that had been built in 1881 by Catherine and Charles Dibble, a livery stable owner.[2] Wood imagined that “Gothic people” must live in such a house, which had two Gothic windows (one on the front and one on the back). The large and fanciful windows were very out of place—usually reserved for a house of worship. It is thought that the original owners installed these ornate windows in their simple dwelling to enjoy an inspirational beauty usually reserved for Sundays. Wood had the physical structure for his painting. Now, he needed a man and a woman to serve as models.
The choice of the female model was fairly simple. The artist chose his sister, Nan, who had been born in Anamosa, Iowa, and was 31 years old when Wood created American Gothic. Although Wood favored realism in his work, he exaggerated certain features of his sister, such as elongating her face and making her hair less attractive than it truly was.
Now the artist only had to find a suitable male model. Wood soon found his model: his dentist, Dr. Byron H. McKeeby.[3] McKeeby initially turned down Wood’s offer, but, eventually, relented.
Forever Famous
McKeeby was 62 years old when he agreed to be the subject of Wood’s painting.[3] He was not interested in fame or recognition—ironic considering that he would become one of the most recognizable subjects in the history of art. McKeeby only agreed to pose because Wood promised his dentist that he would exaggerate his features to keep anyone recognizing him.[4] This promise, which Wood would not keep, persuaded McKeeby to pose for the painting.
Dr. McKeeby graduated from dental school at the University of Iowa in 1894 and practiced dentistry in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He was not a native of Iowa, as he was born in Pennsylvania. Wood painted McKeeby in his dental office in the Cedar Rapids Savings Bank Building. McKeeby and Nan Wood never actually posed together for the painting.
The painting was entered in an art contest and won a $300 prize. It became immensely popular, and McKeeby denied that he was the man in the painting for the next five years. But friends knew it was him and teased him about the pitchfork’s role in his practice of dentistry, which McKeeby did not appreciate.
In real life, McKeeby was friendly and outgoing, quite different from the solemn farmer in Wood’s painting.
It became national news when McKeeby, in 1935, finally admitted that he was the man with the pitchfork. In 1947, McKeeby sold his dental practice to Dr. Justin Dunn for $1,500. McKeeby soon found out that Dr. Dunn, his wife and newborn child were living in the one room adjacent to the dental office. McKeeby promptly made a down payment on a proper home for the Dunn family.[5]
An Air of Mystery
Throughout its near century of existence, there have been many speculations and false assumptions about American Gothic. Firstly, many observers incorrectly assume that the two individuals were husband and wife. Wood said they were supposed to represent a father and daughter. Wood wisely did not address many other questions about the painting, which added to its mystique. Wood also did not live many years after his newly gained fame, so the public was left to form their own opinions and beliefs concerning the painting, which is probably better.
Today, satirical images of American Gothic are ubiquitous, so much so that some people forget that it is an actual painting, on display at the Art Institute of Chicago, and that the original house which served as the backdrop still exists in Eldon, Iowa.
McKeeby, pitchfork in hand, will forever be remembered as the severe-looking man in the painting, but he should also be remembered as the real-life, affable and giving man who stood steadfast in providing dental care to generations of Midwestern residents.
Dr. Maloney is clinical associate professor, New York University. He holds a postgraduate certificate in healthcare writing from Harvard Medical School, is a fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine and a member of The Explorers Club. Queries about his article can be sent to Dr. Maloney at wjm10@nyu.edu.
REFERENCES
1. Art Institute of Chicago. Grant Wood. Accessed on 12/5/23. Available at: https:/www.artic.edu/artists137343/grant-wood.
2. American Gothic House Center. The House. Accessed on 12/5/23. Available at: https://americangothichouse.org/house.
3. Tennessee Art Commission. Byron McKeeby. Accessed on 12/5/23. Available at: https://tnartscommission.org/permanentcollection/byron-mckeeby/.
4. Gaffee J. The Gazette. Who was the farmer in Grant Wood’s ‘American Gothic’? A Cedar Rapids dentist. July 25, 2019.
5. Westrom J. Small world. Accessed on 12/5/23. Available at: https://wmorton.com/company-announcements/american-gothic-parody/.
