On View
Not on viewObject number1992/3.12
Tree Planting Group
Artist
Grant Wood
(American, 1891-1942)
Date1937
Mediumlithograph
Dimensionsimage: 8 5/8 × 10 7/8 in. (21.9 × 27.6 cm)
sheet: 11 7/8 × 16 in. (30.2 × 40.6 cm)
mat: 16 × 20 in. (40.6 × 50.8 cm)
sheet: 11 7/8 × 16 in. (30.2 × 40.6 cm)
mat: 16 × 20 in. (40.6 × 50.8 cm)
Credit LinePurchased in memory of Ward H. Nay with contributions from his friends and the Art Auction Fund
Exhibition History"70 Years, 70 Works from the KIA Permanent Collection," KIA (Nov. 19, 1994 - Feb. 10, 1995).
"36 Regionalist prints from the KIA," Dennos Museum Center (Sept. 8 - Nov. 24, 1996), Ella Sharp Museum, Jackson, MI (May 17 - July 13, 1997), Midland Center for the Arts (Aug. 2 - Sept. 21, 1997).
"The American Experience: Prints and Drawings, 1900-1946", KIA.
"A Curator's Legacy: Helen Sheridan and the KIA Collection," KIA Long Gallery (Dec. 20, 2008 - Apr. 19, 2009).
Label TextMany images in Grant Wood’s art involved allegorical themes that reflected the values he held dear. One recurring figure is that of the woman as conservator and caretaker of the garden. In Tree Planting, this figure appears in the form of a schoolteacher, who watches her older students dig a hole in which to plant the tree she supports with one hand. Her role as a teacher in the country school is extended metaphorically to include teaching the children what their responsibilities and duties will be when, as adults, it is their turn to care for the land. This print is based on a drawing Wood created in 1933, when we witnessed a similar scene.
