Poetry of Place

Eastern Iowa, between the World Wars, was a center for Regionalist art. Regionalism was based in the rejection of Europe and the American East as the sole sources of art and culture. Grant Wood, Marvin Cone, Jay Sigmund and Paul Engle were good friends and did some of their best creative work in and around Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in the 1920s and 1930s. This documentary, which includes biographies of the artists, traces the roots of Regionalism during the Great Depression and discusses how the federal government played a role in encouraging the arts. Stone City and the Stone City Art Colony receive special attention. The documentary also discusses the evolution of Grant Wood’s painting style after his trip to Munich. Running time: 56 min.