American Gothic, Washington, D.C.

© The Gordon Parks Foundation

American Gothic, Washington, D.C.

Currently not on view

American Gothic, Washington, D.C.,

1942

Gordon Parks, 1912–2006; born Fort Scott, KS; died New York, NY; active New York, NY
2017-195

Parks created this portrait of Ella Watson, a government cleaning woman, by positioning her in front of an American Flag and placing a broom and a mop in her hands, echoing in pose as well as in title Grant Wood’s by then iconic 1930 painting of rural American resilience American Gothic. Watson worked in the building of the Farm Security Administration, a program of the New Deal whose fellowship brought Parks to Washington, DC. Parks, who would go on to become the first African American photographer at Life magazine, was taken aback by the overt racism he encountered in the nation’s capital and saw in Watson a potent critique of the country’s inequalities as well as a version of American fortitude.

Information

Title
American Gothic, Washington, D.C.
Dates

1942

Maker
Gordon Parks
Medium
Gelatin silver print
Dimensions
image: 31.5 × 22.2 cm (12 3/8 × 8 3/4 in.) sheet: 35.4 × 27.8 cm (13 15/16 × 10 15/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of The Gordon Parks Foundation
Object Number
2017-195
Place Made

North America, United States, Washington, D.C.

Marks/Labels/Seals
Square stamp on verso: GORDON PARKS / This is a certified Gordon Parks reference print / which was printed during his lifetime and / authorized by the Gordon Parks Foundation. / [Signed] / Peter W. Kunhardt, Jr / Director, Gordon Parks Foundation / © All rights reserved
Culture
American
Type
photographs, gelatin silver prints
Techniques
gelatin silver process
Subject
figures (representations), brooms, mops (maintenance tools), flags, women

The artist; the Gordon Parks Foundation, Pleasantville, NY; given to the Princeton University Art Museum, 2017.

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