Grant Wood's Indian Creek

Sometime between 1924 and 1928 renowned 42N artist, Grant Wood painted an oil portrait of nearby Indian Creek. Two blocks from the 42N Observations blog origination site is this same creek which runs from the north in Linn county, Iowa generally southward before joining the Cedar River. Somewhere along that path Wood painted the scene and titled the work, Iowa Autumn, Indian Creek. The painting is currently displayed at the Dubuque Museum of Art. Photo of the Grant Wood work is courtesy of the museum web site.

You can see Wood's work at many locations in the Midwest including Cedar Rapids, Iowa which houses many public and private collections of his work - including his restored studio at 5 Turner Alley. If you walk the Sac and Fox trail from the East Post Road terminus you might get a glimpse of the portion of the creek where Wood painted this scene. Much of his work is held by the Cedar Rapids school district in various locations around the city.

I do recall seeing a Grant Wood pencil sketch of Indian Creek at Franklin Middle School. That drawing may have been the working model for the eventual color oil featured above. Someone at the Dubuque Art Museum may know for sure. My photo of the creek was taken last fall near Thanksgiving. When exploring 42N country (especially around the 91.66W longitude) you also discover Grant Wood country.