Pasture to Present

June 13, 2026

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December 6, 2026

Grant Wood’s Corn Room and New Visions of Rural America

Pasture to Present is a two-part exhibition inspired by Grant Wood’s Corn Room. Originally commissioned for the Martin Hotel in Sioux City, Iowa, these panels resonate with a uniquely American view of the landscape, one steeped in symbolism, cultural pride, and an idealized view of the agricultural Midwest. Wood, who was born in Anamosa, Iowa and is best known for American Gothic (1930), developed a Regionalist style as a response to both the Great Depression and urbanization, championing the rural Midwest as a stable, enduring alternative to industrialized cities.

Painted in 1926, Sioux City’s Corn Room mural epitomizes Wood’s early vision of agriculture as the backbone of this region. In 2026, the Art Center celebrates the centenary of this singular artwork to illuminate Wood’s mastery in capturing both the literal and symbolic essence of the Midwest. The exhibition will be comprised of two sections:

The mural panels, which were on permanent display at the Sioux City Art Center beginning in 2007, have been meticulously conserved during the last year. They celebrate the agricultural heartland and explore the complex and evolving relationship between American art, rural landscapes, and the idealized vision of Midwestern life. With important artworks on loan from regional museums, this section of the exhibition will examine the historical framing of Regionalism, including the social and creative dimensions of rural America, with a particular focus on agriculture, community, and the iconography of the Midwest.

Many regional artists are creating new responses to agricultural and rural themes through their work, examining both continuities and divergences they see in rural life since Wood’s era. This second section of the exhibition, with a newly commissioned mural by Iowa City artist Thomas Agran, includes significant contemporary art installations, photographs, and multimedia pieces that reinterpret agricultural themes considering current issues—such as climate change, industrial farming, and urban migration.

Pasture to Present offers a rare opportunity to see Grant Wood’s Corn Room mural not just as a celebrated piece of art but as a symbol of a rural ideal that continues to shape American identity. In pairing Wood’s original work with contemporary reflections on rural life, this exhibition honors the artist’s legacy while inviting a new generation to consider the ongoing importance of rural America in the nation’s cultural landscape. Through this exhibition, we aim to inspire visitors to appreciate the complexities, beauty, and resilience that define both the land and its people.

Pasture to Present: Grant Wood’s Corn Room and New Visions of Rural America is organized by Sioux City Art Center Curator Christopher Atkins.

This exhibition has been made possible through the financial support of the Art Center’s Blockbuster Partners IV, a group of dedicated supporters whose funding enables the Art Center to create major projects like Pasture to Present for Sioux City. Additional major support for this project came from the Margaret Ann Martin Everist Foundation, the Heffernan Fund, and the Art Center Association of Sioux City.

title image:
Grant Wood
Self-Portrait, 1932
Oil on Masonite
Figge Art Museum, City of Davenport Art Collection, Friends of Art Acquisition Fund, 1965.1