R. Tripp Evans

Grant Wood: A Life tells the often heartbreaking story of the man who became "America's Painter." From the moment his now-iconic American Gothic caught the nation's attention in 1930, Grant Wood and his work have served as a blank canvas for American audiences, who see what they will in his dreamy landscapes, quirky history paintings, and forbidding portraits.The first biography of the artist to appear in almost 70 years, and the only one to explore Wood's closeted sexuality, Evans' book draws upon extensive research and important archival discoveries.Since 1997, Tripp Evans has been an assistant professor of art and art history at Wheaton College. He is the author of Romancing the Maya: Mexican Antiquity in the American Imagination, 1820-1915. His biography of Grant Wood won the 2010 Marfield Prize, National Award for Arts Writing. Recorded On: Sunday, October 23, 2011