A close friend of the “American Gothic” painter, another eastern Iowa artist known for his works of Midwestern farmers and their fields has died. 96-year-old John Bloom died Tuesday at his Davenport home. Bloom was an award-winning regional artist. He painted all his life, even though he had to take commercial art jobs to pay the bills while raising his family. During the Depression, Bloom studied at Grant Wood’s Stone City near Anamosa. He also worked there to earn his room and board. It was at Stone City that Bloom met his future wife, Isabel. Her popular sculptures eventually resulted in Isabel Bloom, a regional chain of stores named for her. She died a year ago this month at the age of 93.
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