Grant Wood instantly gained fame in 1930 with his painting American Gothic, which depicted a solemn farmer and woman standing in front of a farmhouse. Wood was influenced by medieval art and inspired by a Gothic window, but it was the faces of the subjects that captured attention. For the farmer, Wood used his dentist, a sour-looking man, and for the woman he chose his sister Nan, stretching their necks slightly. Nan later said the fame from American Gothic saved her from a dull life.