A mural painted by Iowa artist Grant Wood which depicts life in a western Iowa town is being donated to Cedar Rapids Washington High School. Principal Ralph Plagman calls the massive work spectacular.The mural is in four sections, totaling 24-by-six feet. It depicts the Mormon settlement called Kanesville, which eventually became Council Bluffs. A California art collector is giving the mural to the school. Plagman says this is an important work in Woods’ career.Plagman says the 1927-era mural may be worth one-point-five million dollars. It’ll be placed behind a glass wall in the school’s main conference room. He says the students are excited about the mural.Wood was born in Anamosa but graduated from the original Cedar Rapids Washington High. He’s best known for “American Gothic” which depicts an old farmer holding a pitchfork and standing beside a woman. The model for the farmer was actually Wood’s dentist and the woman was his sister, Nan.
