Two years before Grant Wood painted American Gothic, he began working on what the author believes to be his most important work of art: a stained-glass window honoring Iowa’s veterans for the newly built Veteran’s Memorial Building in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
A fitting tribute to the memory of veterans of the six wars Americans had fought to its date, the window is one of our nation’s finest war memorials. With its fifty-eight sections stretching twenty feet wide and twenty-four feet high, it is also one of the largest in the world.
Grant Wood’s Memorial Masterpiece traces the compelling story of his struggle to produce this breathtaking work and how it led him to develop the unique Regionalist style for which he is recognized around the world.
“Barbara Feller’s book, Memorial Masterpiece, is a tribute to the beauty of the famed stained-glass window and its artist, Grant Wood. Rich in detail, Feller tells a thorough and thoughtful story of the Grant Wood Veteran’s Memorial Window but also takes the reader a step further in a well-documented look at Grant Wood himself. The clarity of the writing style makes this book such an impressive treat, and the appropriate illustrations add to the enjoyment.”—Paul Juhl, author of Grant Wood’s Clear Lake Summer; Grant Wood: Abandoned Plans; and Grant Wood and the Iowa State Fair.
“Offering a personal perspective on Grant Wood’s most monumental work, Barb Feller’s book is an engaging study that offers unique insights on the remarkable Veteran’s Memorial Window in Cedar Rapids. Readers will visit the site with new eyes and new understandings!”—Joni Kinsey, Professor, American Art History School of Art and Art History, University of Iowa.