Arnold Böcklin
Self-Portrait with Death Playing the Fiddle
From $100
This painting is crisp, smooth detail in muted blues, browns and creams, and a soft copy blurs the faces and the stitching. Our American Gothic print was graded beside the original so every line stays sharp, from the pitchfork to the rickrack on the apron.
Canvas, framed or paper
Stretched canvas. Printed on cotton canvas and stretched taut over a frame. The edges are mirror-wrapped, so the picture continues around the sides and none of it is lost to the fold.
Framed canvas. The same canvas, set in a black, white, natural wood or dark wood frame 0.83 in deep. The frame gives the work a finished edge and a little more presence on the wall.
Framed print. Printed on fine art matte paper and framed in solid pine, behind shatterproof plexiglass, in black, white, natural wood or dark wood. It arrives ready to hang. Framed sizes are measured on the outside of the frame.
Fine art print. Printed on 310gsm fine art matte paper, for framing your own way. It travels rolled and protected. From 18x24 inch.
Sizes
16x20 inch, 24x30 inch, 32x40 inch. Framed sizes are measured on the outside of the frame, so the visible painting is a little smaller.
On your wall
Its upright shape suits a living room, a kitchen, a study or a hallway, and it is a great talking point. The blues, browns and creams look classic with white, navy and natural wood, and a black or natural frame suits it.
About the painting
American Gothic by Grant Wood
Eldon, Iowa, 1930
In August 1930 Grant Wood, an Iowa painter who had trained in Paris, was driven around the small town of Eldon, Iowa. He noticed a little white house with a pointed Gothic window and decided to paint it with the kind of people he fancied should live there.
The dentist and the sister
The models were his sister Nan and the family dentist, Dr. Byron McKeeby. Nan sewed her own apron, with rickrack trim taken from their mother’s old dresses. Wood said the pair were a farmer and his grown-up daughter, not husband and wife. Look how the pitchfork echoes the stitching on the overalls and the Gothic window above.
A comic valentine?
At the Art Institute of Chicago one judge called it a comic valentine, but it won a bronze medal and the museum bought it. Some Iowans were furious, yet Wood said he had to go to France to appreciate Iowa. It still hangs at the Art Institute of Chicago.
Read the story
The most famous farmer in America was really a dentist.
In August 1930, Grant Wood, a painter from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was driven around the little town of Eldon.
He noticed a small white farmhouse with a pointed Gothic window, and he thought it would make a fine painting, with the kind of people he imagined living there.
He sketched the house once, and never went back. Then, in his studio, he found his models.
The woman is his sister, Nan. She sewed her own apron, using trim taken from their mother's old dresses.
The man with the pitchfork is the family dentist, Dr. Byron McKeeby.
Wood said they were a farmer and his grown-up daughter, not husband and wife. And look how the pitchfork repeats everywhere: in the stitching of the overalls, and in the window above.
When it was shown at the Art Institute of Chicago that year, one judge called it a comic valentine. It won a bronze medal anyway, and the museum bought it.
Some Iowans were furious. But Wood said: I had to go to France to appreciate Iowa.
It still hangs at the Art Institute of Chicago.
American Gothic. Grant Wood, 1930.
How each piece is brought to life
Faithful to the original, and made to be felt on your wall.
Graded against the original
We compare every work with the original as we grade it, keeping the artist’s colours true while bringing back their depth and glow. Every mark stays the artist’s own.
Printed for you
Printed to order on cotton canvas or fine art paper, then framed if you chose a frame, in 1 to 3 business days.
On your wall
It arrives 5 to 12 business days later, tracked and free anywhere in the US. Framed pieces come ready to hang.
Questions
Is this the original painting?
No. The original hangs in a museum. What you receive is a fine art reproduction, remastered from the original and printed for you, with every mark where the artist left it.
Will the colour look flat?
This is where most reproductions disappoint, and it is where we spend the most time. Each work is graded side by side with the original: faithful to the artist’s colours, with the depth and warmth brought back, so it moves you on the wall the way it was meant to. Canvas reads a touch softer than a backlit screen, and every screen shows colour a little differently.
Will the edges be cropped?
Each size is a standard frame size, so we fit the painting by trimming a little from its edges. We never stretch or squash it, and we check every size by eye so no face, figure or signature is cut. On canvas the edges are mirror-wrapped, which keeps the whole picture on the front.
Which size is right for my wall?
Aim for about two-thirds the width of the furniture beneath it. Over a sofa or a sideboard, one of the two largest sizes will hold the wall. The size guide lists every size in inches and centimetres, with the kind of wall each one suits.
How long does it take?
Your piece is printed in 1–3 business days, then spends 5–12 business days in transit, tracked all the way. Delivery is free anywhere in the US. We are unable to deliver to PO boxes.
What if it arrives damaged?
Send us a photograph and we will remake it and send it again. There is nothing to return.
Can I return it?
Yes, within 30 days of delivery. Our returns policy has the details.
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Printed to order
Graded against the original, then printed for you on cotton canvas or fine art paper in 1–3 business days.
The whole painting
Every mark is the artist’s own, and canvas edges are mirror-wrapped so the whole picture stays on the front.
Free US shipping
On every order, tracked, 5–12 business days in transit.
30-day returns
Returns and exchanges within 30 days of delivery.
