Village Slums

Grant Wood, Village Slums, 1937, charcoal, pencil and chalk on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Park and Phyllis Rinard, 1991.122.1
Grant Wood, Village Slums, 1937, charcoal, pencil and chalk on paperboard, image: 21 1816 in. (53.640.6 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Park and Phyllis Rinard, 1991.122.1

Artwork Details

Title
Village Slums
Artist
Date
1937
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
image: 21 1816 in. (53.640.6 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Park and Phyllis Rinard
Mediums Description
charcoal, pencil and chalk on paperboard
Classifications
Subjects
  • Architecture Exterior — domestic — bathroom
  • Architecture Exterior — domestic — house
  • Cityscape — weather — snow
  • Architecture — other — well
  • Cityscape — street — alley
Object Number
1991.122.1

Artwork Description

Village Slums is one of nine illustrations that Wood created for Sinclair Lewis’s 1920 novel Main Street. Seven of the drawings depict characters from the novel, while only two show locations. Village Slums and another that details a mansion on Main Street that contrasts poor and wealthy neighborhoods. Wood made use of a bird’s-eye perspective in Village Slums, indicating that the viewer is looking down on the little community.

Graphic Masters II: Highlights from the Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2009

Works by this artist (8 items)

John Cage, Not Wanting to Say Anything about Marcel, Lithograph A, 1969, color lithograph on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1972.96
Not Wanting to Say Anything about Marcel, Lithograph A
Date1969
color lithograph on paper
Not on view
John Cage, Seven Day Diary (Not Knowing), Day Seven, 1978, color etching with hard ground etching, drypoint, sugar aquatint, photo etching, and found objects, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Moses Lasky, 2004.32.5.7
Seven Day Diary (Not Knowing), Day Seven
Date1978
color etching with hard ground etching, drypoint, sugar aquatint, photo etching, and found objects
Not on view
John Cage, Seven Day Diary (Not Knowing), Day Five, 1978, hard and soft ground etching, drypoint, sugar aquatint, photo etching, and found objects, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Moses Lasky, 2004.32.5.5
Seven Day Diary (Not Knowing), Day Five
Date1978
hard and soft ground etching, drypoint, sugar aquatint, photo etching, and found objects
Not on view
John Cage, Seven Day Diary (Not Knowing), Day Six, 1978, color etching with hard and soft ground etching, drypoint, sugar aquatint, photo etching and found objects, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Moses Lasky, 2004.32.5.6
Seven Day Diary (Not Knowing), Day Six
Date1978
color etching with hard and soft ground etching, drypoint, sugar aquatint, photo etching and found objects
Not on view

More Artworks from the Collection

Al Blaustein, Family and Friends, ca. 1967, pen and ink and pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1985.30.4
Family and Friends
Dateca. 1967
pen and ink and pencil on paper
Not on view
William H. Johnson, Soldiers Standing with Rifles, ca. 1941-1942, recto: pen and ink and pencil on paper
verso: pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.564R-V
Soldiers Standing with Rifles
Dateca. 1941-1942
recto: pen and ink and pencil on paper verso: pencil on paper
Not on view
William H. Johnson, Storefront Church, ca. 1940-1941, pen and ink and pencil with wash on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.566
Storefront Church
Dateca. 1940-1941
pen and ink and pencil with wash on paper
Not on view
William H. Johnson, Mountains and Blossoming Trees, Norway, ca. 1935-1938, brush and ink and pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.127
Mountains and Blossoming Trees, Norway
Dateca. 1935-1938
brush and ink and pencil on paper
Not on view