American Gothic, by Grant Wood, has always been one of my favorite paintings. Cliche I know, but I just love it. While in Chicago this past weekend I was able to see not only the original painting (1930) in the Chicago Institute of Art, but also a sister work of art from 2005 that mimics it nearby across from the famous Tribune Building.
I recently found out that the painting by Wood depicts a farmer and his DAUGHTER, not his wife like I always assumed, according to his sister Nan. He modeled the pair on his dentist, Dr. Byron McKeeby and sister; people he thought looked like occupants of such a house. The original building was in Eldon, Iowa and was painted from memory. The painting was submitted to the institute in a contest and won first place: $300 and a bronze medal. The museum purchased it shortly afterwards and it became one of the most widely published paintings of all history.
The nearby statue is of fiberglass and was created by J. Seward Johnson (the Johnson & Johnson heir). Measuring in at an impressive 25 feet high, the statue is called 'God Bless America'. Which do you prefer?
While at the Chicago Institute of Art, I came across a piece that was surprising to me: A ceramic vessel by Paul Gauguin. Yes, THAT Paul Gauguin: the post-impressionist with the colorful exotic paintings based in Polynesia. I had no idea he was so prolific!
Adjacent to the Pritzger Pavilion, by Frank Gehry,are 2 other interesting pieces of sculpture that really capture 2 different styles of monuments.
The first is a very classical structure, the Millennium Monument in Wrigley Square. It is a slightly smaller version of a Greek (doric) styled monument, designed by Edward Bennett, (who also designed the famous Buckingham Fountain nearby) which stood nearby from 1917 till 1953. I love classical structures like these, but sadly it was the emptiest part of the whole park.
The Cloud-gate, lovingly nicknamed the bean for obvious reasons, was immensly more popular. I could see why: totally interactive, people loved to look at their own reflections 'carnival style' and walk in, around and under it. 
The sculpture sits in the AT&T plaza section: built of polished steel, it weighs in at 110 TONS! The heavy work was the first installation by artist Anish Kapoor in the United States and cost upwards of $23 million -about 5 times more than the classical Millenium monument! It is meant to depict a drop of mercury right before impact with the ground. The sculpture was hand polished on site after delivery to hide the weld-lines. They did a good job because it is amazingly PERFECT (although it could do with a good washing with windex!). You can easily see why this is the most popular piece in the park! If you plan a trip to Chicago (and you must!) plan to visit the Millennium Park!
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