The Sioux City Art Center is sending a mural painted by Grant Wood almost 100 years ago for some restoration work.
Close up of a corn mural. (KSCJ photo)
The “Corn Room Mural” was originally commissioned for the Martin Hotel in Sioux City in 1926 and at one point was covered in wallpaper and paint in the 1950’s before it was recovered in 1979. Art Center curator Christopher Atkins says there hasn’t been any work on it in 40 years. “Considering where the murals came from originally, there’s not much we can do to really restore Grant Wood’s original vision, so we’re doing our best to conserve what is there, to make sure that it’s stabilized and it’s there for generations of people to enjoy,” Atkins says.
The colors of the mural and canvas suffered damage in the original restoration. Atkins says the mural gives a good view of a very different time in Sioux City 100 years ago.
“We were on the cusp of the Great Depression, but downtown had a lot of hustle and bustle. There were department stores, there was a density of people living and working in this area,” Atkins says. “So at the same time as we’re looking at these murals and what they what they mean to the mural, what it means to Sioux City, it’s also a good moment to sort of look at the broader context of what Sioux City was like 100 years ago.”
There are several sections and they will be taken to Minneapolis in two phases for the renovation work. “Four of them will be picked up and make their way to Minneapolis on Tuesday, and around six months after that, those will come back and the remaining three will be conserved as well,” he says. Atkins says the renovation should be completed in time for the mural’s centennial celebration.
Eugene Eppley also commissioned corn murals for their hotels in Council Bluffs and Cedar Rapids. Wood is from Anamosa and in 1930 painted “American Gothic” which became his most recognized work.
(By Woody Gottburg, KSCJ, Sioux City)