The document summarizes the American Scene painting style between 1931-1940. It was a reaction against European modernism and an attempt to define a uniquely American style. The two main schools were regionalism, which featured rural scenes, and social realism, which depicted urban life. Notable regionalist artists included Grant Wood, Norman Rockwell, and Andrew Wyeth. Key social realist painters were Diego Rivera and Edward Hopper. The document provides brief biographies and descriptions of influential works for several of these important American Scene painters.

1. Art Style Study
American Scene
Painting
1931-1940
The Shiner, 1953, Oil on Canvas
Kim DeVillier

2. American Scene Painting
❖ A general term encompassing the realist and
anti-modernist style of painting
❖ Popular in America during the Great Depression
❖ A reaction against European Modernism
❖ An attempt to define a uniquely American style of
art

3. Two main schools:
Regionalism: rurally oriented
Social Realism: urban and politically
oriented

4. Regionalism
There are several artists who
painted in this style. Three of
the more famous ones are:
❖ Grant Wood
❖ Norman Rockwell
❖ Andrew Wyeth
Young Corn, 1931, Oil on Masonite panel

5. Grant Wood
❖ Born on a farm near
Anamosa, Iowa in 1891
❖ Considered the Father of
American Scene painting
❖ Loved the simplicity of land
scenes and people
❖ Had great affection for the
people and customs of the
Midwest
Self Portrait, 1932, Oil on Canvas

6. American Gothic
1930, Oil on Beaverboard
Considered the most famous
Grant Wood painting.
So named because the design of
the arch-shaped window in the
background is Middle Age
Gothic

7. Woman with Plants, 1929, Oil on Cardboard

8. The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere, 1931, Oil on Masonite

9. Norman Rockwell
❖ Most famous for cover
illustrations of everyday life in the
Saturday Evening Post
❖ Worked with the Boy Scouts of
America for 64 years, producing
covers for their publication, Boys’
Life
❖ Later works depicted his interest
in poverty, civil rights, and space
exploration
Triple Self-Portrait, 1960, Oil on Canvas

10. Rosie the Riveter
1943, Oil on Canvas
Rockwell’s iconic personification
of women’s efforts to aid the
American military to victory
during WWII.

11. Happy Birthday, Miss Jones,
1956, Oil on Canvas
Rockwell was
meticulous when it
came to his paintings.
He chose his models,
props, and settings to
form a tableau.
Then he directed the
scene as though it
were a movie.
“Every single object
shown in a picture
should contribute
directly to the central
theme. All other
things should be
ruthlessly discarded.”

12. No
Swimming,
1921, Oil on
Canvas
The American Way, 1944, Oil on Canvas
The Problem We All Live With, 1964, Oil
on Canvas

13. Andrew Wyeth
❖ His favorite subjects were
the land and people around
him.
❖ Was homeschooled
❖ Mastered figure study,
watercolor, and egg tempera
painting technique.
❖ His favorite master painter
was Winslow Homer
Self Portrait, nd, tempera on canvas

14. Christina’s World
1948, Tempera on Gessoed Panel
One of the best-known
American paintings of
the mid 20th Century

15. Wyeth was known
as the “Painter of
the People”
Master Bedroom, 1965, watercolor

16. Winter, 1946, Tempera on Panel
Braids, 1977, Tempera on Panel
Public Sale, 1943,
Tempera on Panel

17. Social Realism
There are several artists who
painted in this style. Two of
the more famous ones are:
❖ Diego Rivera
❖ Edward Hopper
Diego Rivera, Flower Carrier, 1935, Oil and
Tempera on Masonite

18. Diego Rivera
❖ Considered the greatest
Mexican painter of the 20th
Century
❖ Famous for reintroducing
fresco painting into modern art
❖ Married to Frida Kahlo,
another famous Mexican artist
Self Portrait, 1949, Tempera on Linen

19. Portrait of Natasha
Gelman, 1943
One of Rivera’s finest works -
a portrait of Jacques Gelman’s
wife with calla lilies in the
background - the perfect
example of Mexico’s flora.

20. A View of Toledo from two
different artists’
perspectives
El Greco, 1598-99, Oil on Canvas
Diego Rivera, 1912, Oil on Canvas
What are the differences? The
similarities?

21. The Flower Seller,
1942, Oil on
Canvas

22. Edward Hopper
❖ Struggled to gain recognition
for his works
❖ Was the last great Social
Realist
❖ His paintings suggested a
powerful sense of isolation in
postwar America Self-Portrait, 1925, Oil on Canvas

23. Nighthawks
1942, Oil on Canvas
Hopper’s most famous
work depicting people
in a diner late at night

24. Chop Suey, 1929, Oil on Canvas
Sunday, 1926, Oil on Canvas

25. –Norman Rockwell
“Some people have been kind enough to
call me a fine artist. I've always called
myself an illustrator. I'm not sure what
the difference is. All I know is that
whatever type of work I do, I try to give it
my very best. Art has been my life.”
The End