I'm sure it's because of my roots being ancestrally stuck in the rich,dark soil of the Midwest, that I adore the artwork of Grant Wood,
1891-1942. Most of his works are of the simple, rural American
Midwest, often capturing the steadfast American pioneer spirit.
One of his best known paintings is American Gothic, an iconic
image of the 20th century.
.
Wood's "Portrait of a Woman", in his Main Street series, above, is
one piece I'm particularly fond of, and keep a copy in my PC photo
file. For the past several months, this lovely voyeuristic lady would
peer at me, through her window, every time I opened the file. I
couldn't help but notice how much she looked like my dear bloggy
friend, FireLight. Now, keep in mind, I've never met FireLight in
person, and have only seen a few of her small avatar size photos.
Finally, hoping she wouldn't think I was completely kooky, I sent
her a copy of the Main Street portrait, with a note telling her of the
striking resemblance.
I almost fell off my chair when FireLight sent me this photo taken
some 20 years ago. The same color braided hair, the hand to the chin,
and not to mention the fact that she looks exactly like Wood's lady in
the window; she easily could have been his model. Listen carefully.
Can you hear the Twilight Zone theme playing in the background?
I told you I was psychic.
.
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57 comments:
Hi how are you?
I was looking through your blog, and I found it interesting, and inspiring to me, so I thought why not leave you a comment.
I too have a blog that I use out of Southern California here in San Diego.
Mostly it is a collection of artistic expression, and I have many friends with the same interests, maybe you can become my friend, and follow, and I can also follow you, if that is okay.
Well I hope to hear from you soon, and or read about you….LOL
Sincerely,
Jesse
Spooky! One of my favorite things is to do the "s/he reminds me of..." Drives Dr. M crazy!
That is a spooky coincidence, Willow. And fancy the pose being the same.
Amazing--separated at birth; & yes, you probably are psychic!
Willow, I guess the only thing I have that Miss Main Street lacks is my winemark/birthmark on my left cheek....and, well, maybe a Southern accent.
I even had a couple of school dresses back then with white collars. I bet she was dreaming of a cup of tea to put a smile on her face.
Challenge to you or your readers: Who is this evil twin of mine? Does anyone know? Come on all of you art history people??
FireLight, my first guess, is that she's Grant Wood's sister, Nan Wood Graham, who also posed for "American Gothic". Whaddya think?
Like Oscar Wilde said: "Life imitates art far more than art imitated life."
Wow! WOW! That's about all I can say. Hmmm, FireLight is about the right age to the model's incarnate.
willow- what a cool connection! i haven't looked at grant wod's work very much - for no particular reason - but i'm drawn by this woman's face and body language to think that he's able to see inside people's heads - much like you!!!! steven
So cool. Gasp! I love this painting. Thanks for introducing this artist... I'll look him up :)
~Brenda
It totally could have been her.
xoxo
I saw this mesmerizing painting on Brayborne Farm's sidebar and had to have a closer look. It reminds me of an Agatha Christie book.
Will have to check out some more pieces of his work.
Firelight does indeed have similar qualities.
xxx
Yes, you are psychic. Amazing resemblance, with the same pose too.
Very interesting indeed! That's some resemblance.
A few notes on the painting. Technically, the painting's title is Portrait of a Woman. It's one in a series of 9 illustrations created for a 1937 special edition of Sinclair Lewis's Main Street, a limited edition of 1500, hand-signed by both Wood and Lewis, on tan rag paper to match Wood's drawings, which were done in pencil, charcoal, crayon and gouache on brown wrapping paper.
I'm not convinced that's Wood's sister Nan Wood Graham in that drawing. If Nan is the woman in American Gothic, then she had a receded chin, and the woman in Potrait of a Woman has a well-defined chin. There are other facial characteristics that are different as well, especially the eyebrows, the hair, and the fact that the woman in American Gothic has a much longer upper lip. No, I think this is someone different.
Spooky! And both quite scary!
I like Wood because there is so much behind the eyes of the people in his "simple, rural American
Midwest" pictures. They are complex tales he tells.
Hey, Roy, thanks for the further info on the Main Street series. Interesting stuff.
It is stretching it a tad, but look at a photo of Nan Wood Graham in google images. It's possible.
I was just reading about the same drawings for Sinclair Lewis's MAIN STREET. This woman may well be a composite of Nan and the character as depicted in the book.
The drawings were certainly an interesting project for Wood.
I just had to change my Mini-Me photo so people know I am not so young and serious anymore!!
You are psychic, the resemblance is uncanny.
Or maybe you just have the "eye" of a great photographer and resemblances I would never notice, just leap out at you.
Pretty amazing when things like that happen.
Looking at the pictures of Nan Wood Graham in Google Images, I have to say that the Portrait of a Woman in the Main Street illustrations is a straightforward portrait of her. It's the likeness in American Gothic that alters her features a good bit. Interesting. It's almost as if he "dumbed down" her looks for the likeness of a midwestern American farm woman.
perhaps he knew her in another life...eerily similar!
Roy, I totally agree. Interesting, huh?
I really love Grant Wood's landscapes, Willow - the ones with the lovely curving hills and ploughed fields. They have a beautiful atmosphere.
What an interesting post. It's almost as if the woman is looking at us saying, "Try to figure out who I am..."
She is also known as "The Perfectionist", as well as "Carol Kennicott", the main character in Sinclair Lewis's "Main Street". Lewis asked Grant Wood to do the illustrations.
Carol Kennicott is described as "an independent and intelligent woman whose life does not revolve around domestic duties."
I am intrigued and now I am going to read the book.
And yes, she does bear a strong resemblance to FireLight.
Thanks for researching that for us, Jo. Now we have a name for the face!
What an astonishing coincidence. Mind you I think I might have the look of the chap in the American Gothic picture.
Psychic, indeed!!!!! Striking resemblance!!!
I wish my memory could retain all of the things you share, Willow.
What an interesting discovery! (I too love Grant Woods portraits.)
Well, yes, I do believe you are psychic! Before reading, I thought Firelight dressed up like the painting! That is just amazing!
Wow this is great synchronicity! Spectacular!
LOVE IT!
much love
Cut to Rod Serling...Fascinating stuff; now I have to read Main Street. But I think that her expression is not so much "try to figure out who I am" as "Are you worthy of trying to figure out who I am? Let me think about this..." The portrait is analyzing the viewer, not the other way 'round. Sneaky, that Mr. Wood.
God, I love the blog world, right?
Willow, I'm psychic too, only thing is, I can not control it. It comes and goes as it may. I see things (and I've always been observant) and things come to me out of the blue but most interesting are the things that come to me in dreams.
Life is better than fiction! :-)
I wished I had an opportunity to take a portrait of FireLight!
The woman in the painting looks more angular to me. Is it as spooky as your resemblance to Johnny Depp? That is what I am pondering. xx
It is amazing at how much the pictures look alike. Truly you do have a photographic eye. That is a true talent. I think I would be lucky to remember anything about the two pictures looking alike if they were not side by side. Your psychic abilities seem to be blossoming too. Really cool.
God bless.
A perfect case for reincarnation. lol If you believe.
My reaction to the painting was of a woman waiting for someone to come home, not that she was voyeuristic. I guess that's what makes art successful, if it speaks to us each individually.
WHOA!! How cool is that?!?!? I love it when stuff like this happens....makes you feel a little unsettled in a gleeful kinda way!
Golden West, I referred to her as being voyeuristic, because she was always peeking through her window at me from my photo file! :^)
Totally psychic, Willow. Between you, Jo and others, I'm being constantly educated here, so thanks~!
I knew you were psychic!
Still ... wow!!
I'm a big fan of Grant Wood, too. Is that a midwestern thing??
As a fellow Midwesterner (originally) I too love the austere compositions and planes of Grant Wood's work.
You've picked a dandy here. The drawing itself, and the perfect skin tones would set it apart, but his ability to capture a "look" without it becoming a caricature is rare indeed among painters of his day.
As for the psychic vibes - I'm convinced it was the lack of fluoride in the water that allowed some of us to retain our sixth sense...
Have you ever look close at photo's from the 1900-1920's of crowds of people. I swear they are the same faces I see every day.
It's sooo-- strange and weird.
I have ESP sometimes it is
scary. Hello Friend!
Yvonne P.S. I like Woods work.
You do seem to be a magnet for this sort of thing, Willow. Maybe you should get your palm read. (Or have you already done that?)
Wonderful!
"Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous!!"
Over 1,00 followers and almost 50 comments. You are my model to follow. Best wishes for 2,00 followers and 100 comments.
Stephen Tremp
Incredible resemblance.
You have an eye for things...yes you DO!!!!
Wow.
I've been reading a biography of Diana Mosley (nee Mitford) and it says that her father was very sensitive to ghosts. They had to leave a house that everyone else loved because he was constantly plagued by ghosts there. I thought of you, Willow!
Wonderful synchronicity!
yes, willow, a really neat story - great images and wonderful synchronicity! great post!
That is uncanny.
What an interesting post, and I love the artwork.
Thanks Willow.
Hello Willow,
I'm glad I've seen FireLight's avatar closer to, having noticed it appear recently. Amazing resemblance to Wood's painting. You sure do have extra-sensory powers!
Definitely odd. Same pose even!
Willow and Firefly...yous could take this one step further you lovely midwest farmer's daughters to find more simlarity in your coincidence. Perhaps you could image that the "peering" through the window is a connection which needs to be further examined. I am getting a vibe here; that firefly is an artist, that the photo of ms firefly was infact a "self-portrait" for her art studio work (am I close?) and that one day ms Firefly will be featured on a Corn Flakes box. There is much more to this story, let's do some sleuthin'!
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