January

Description

This impressive drawing relates to a series of lithographs—which Wood planned but never completed—representing all the seasons and months of the year. He made finished drawings depicting four of the months, and this is the only subject of which he also made a painting. Contrary to the usual evolution of a composition, he made the lithograph first, in 1937, then this drawing, in 1938, and finally the painting, in 1940.

Provenance

Sold by Grand Central Art Galleries, New York, to IBM International Foundation, New York, 1940; sold, Sotheby's, New York, May 25, 1995, pp. 106–07. Private collection, Chicago. Owen Gallery, New York. Private Collection, California. Sold by James Reinish & Associates, New York, to the Art Institute of Chicago, 2015.

January

Grant Wood

1938

Accession Number

228478

Medium

Charcoal, smudging and erasure, and white Conté crayon on tan paperboard

Dimensions

52 × 68 cm (20 1/2 × 26 13/16 in.)

Classification

charcoal

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

Regenstein Acquisition Fund and Regenstein Foundation