The Grant Wood Art Colony builds on the spirit of innovation that defined Grant Wood’s time at the University of Iowa. Just steps from where he lived and worked, we cultivate a space where artists and scholars converge—advancing creative expression, honoring a pioneering artist of American Regionalism, and shaping the next generation of artistic and academic excellence.

Front gate of the Grant Wood Art Colony in Iowa City, Iowa

Fellowship Application Window Open

The Grant Wood Fellowship application windows are now open. Review of the Interdisciplinary Performance-Theatre Fellowship applications begins January 15 and review of the Printmaking and Painting & Drawing Fellowships applications begin February 1. Visit the Fellowship page to learn more.

Green fence with metal plaque at the front gate of the Grant Wood Art Colony property mentioning the donors.

The Colony

The three pillars of the Colony—fellowship, research, and community engagement—are all carried out adjacent to the home Grant Wood owned and lived in while teaching at the University in the 1930s.

Brandon Coley Cox, printmaking fellow, leaning over working on a piece of art

The Fellowship program

This fellowship merges artistic practice with academic engagement in an immersive environment. It honors Grant Wood’s legacy—melding hands-on creation, teaching, and community engagement—while enriching the cultural life of Iowa City. 

Artist Grant Wood seated in a gallery looking away from the camera with three people viewing pieces of art on display in the background.

The Inspiration

After painting one of the most recognizable images in the world, American Gothic, Iowa native Grant Wood joined the University of Iowa faculty. These final years of Wood's life were among his most productive and turbulent, and his influence can be felt today via the Grant Wood Art Colony at the UI.

Meet the current fellows

Ada Friedman stands in front of an autumn tree

Ada Friedman

Title/Position
Painting and Drawing Fellow, 2025-2026
Elizabeth Claire Rose stands in a garden

Elizabeth Claire Rose

Title/Position
Printmaking Fellow, 2025-2026
Kyle Marshall headshot

Kyle Marshall

Title/Position
Interdisciplinary Performance-Dance Fellow, 2025-2026

Living, working, and creating together

"...Grant Wood was at the forefront, celebrating local culture for what it was, what it had been, and what it could be.”

Joni Kinsey, Professor Emerita in the UI School of Art, Art History, and Design

Events

Grant Wood Country Forum: Welcome, Featuring "Seeing Wood: Cedar Rapids Community School District Grant Wood Collection" promotional image

Grant Wood Country Forum: Welcome, Featuring "Seeing Wood: Cedar Rapids Community School District Grant Wood Collection"

Tuesday, January 20, 2026 7:00pm to 9:00pm
Virtual

After a welcome from Grant Wood Country Forum director Elaine Mattingly, Grant Wood Art Colony director Maura Pilcher will discuss the new partnership between the Forum and the University of Iowa followed by an update on the Grant Wood Catalogue Raisonné project.

"The Recipe: Introduction to All Things Grant Wood Country Forum," by Elaine Mattingly

Elaine Mattingly’s connection to all things Grant Wood goes back six generations in the Anamosa, Stone City, Viola and Cedar Rapids areas of Iowa. She...

Grant Wood Country Forum: "The Couple with the Pitchfork: The Back Story to A Forthcoming Book" promotional image

Grant Wood Country Forum: "The Couple with the Pitchfork: The Back Story to A Forthcoming Book"

Tuesday, January 27, 2026 7:00pm to 9:00pm
Virtual

"The Couple with the Pitchfork: The Back Story to A Forthcoming Book," Wanda Corn and Joni Kinsey

Wanda Corn is a scholar of late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century American art and photography. Having earned a BA (1963), MA (1965) and Ph.D. (1974) from New York University, Professor Corn taught at Washington Square College, the University of California, Berkeley, and Mills College before moving to Stanford University in Palo Alto, California in 1980. At Stanford she held the university's...

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Support the Grant Wood Art Colony

Be a part of the University of Iowa’s historic commitment to creative work. Your support helps to continue the research, progress, and artistic opportunity made possible by the Grant Wood Art Colony.