Grant Wood's paintings were influenced by the landscape of his home; the Midwest and it's inhabitants. As one of America's most famous regional painters, Wood loved his work just as he loved America. He claimed to be "the plainest kind of fellow you can find. There isn't a single thing I've done, or experienced, that's been even the least bit excited."(Evans, cover 1). .
On February 13, 1891, Hattie Weaver and Francis Maryville Wood gave birth to their son Grant DeVolson Wood on a little farm outside of Anamosa, Iowa. Wood was one of four children; Frank, Jack, and Nancy, commonly referred to as Nan (Peltakian, para. 1). The oldest, Frank who was four years older, Jack who was two years younger, and their only sister Nancy who was 8 years younger than Wood, all lived on a farm near Anamosa. With the burnt sticks his mother gave him from the stove, the beginning of a Midwestern painter was born (VAGA, para. 2). .
At the age of ten, Grant's father, Francis, passed away. Without the help of their father on the farm, his mother moved the family to Cedar Rapids. While in Cedar Rapids, Wood attended Washington High School. At the age of 14, Wood entered his drawing of oak leaves to a sweepstake and won the first prize award. While in high school, Wood's grammar teacher, Emma Gratten, is credited as the first person to support him in the art programs (Peltakian, para. 2). In 1910, Wood graduated from Washington High School and on that same day, he took a scholarship from the Arts and Crafts Guild in Minneapolis. After a summer of the position, Grant left and returned home to Cedar Rapids where he farmed in the summer of 1911. In 1913, Wood moved to Chicago where he set up a jewelry and metal workshop (Peltakian, para. 3). He eventually enrolled at the School of Art institute of Chicago while he lived there. During World War I, Wood served in the military as a camouflage designer, made clay models of field gun positions and painted cannons (VAGA, para.