The Perfectionist is one of nine drawings by American artist Grant Wood created to illustrate a 1937 special club edition of Sinclair Lewis's Main Street. The book had a print run of 1,500 copies, each hand-numbered and signed by Wood on the colophon. Wood and Lewis — an Iowa painter and a Michigan author — were both rooted in the American Midwest, and seven of Wood's friends posed for the nine illustrations. The subject of The Perfectionist is the novel's main character, Carol Kennicott. First published in 1920, Lewis's novel is often regarded as a mockery of small-town Midwestern life; Carol, a idealistic city girl, moves to Gopher Prairie, Minnesota, after marriage and finds the town parochial. In Wood's portrait, Carol, framed by lace curtains, stares at the town and the viewer like a dressmaker reviewing a fitting — yet it is the Perfectionist's own housedress that has a single button only half-fastened. - AsNotedIn
| Y/M/D | Association | Description | Place | Locale | Food | Event | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1936/00/00 | Grant Wood | Artist | Grant Wood produces "The Perfectionist" using chalk and ink, one of nine large drawings he made to illustrate a special edition of Sinclair Lewis's novel, Main Street. The series reflects Woods interest in character studies and rural American types. | ||||
| 1962/00/00 | Lawrence A Fleischman | Owner | Mr and Mrs Lawrence A Fleischman, Detroit acquire "The Perfectionist" by Grant Wood. The couple will retain the work until 1966, adding it to their collection of American art. | ||||
| 1966/05/20 | John D Rockefeller III | Owner | Kennedy Galleries Inc, New York, sell "The Perfectionist" by Grant Wood, Mr and Mrs John D Rockefeller. | ||||
| 1979/07/00 | Blanchette Ferry Rockefeller | Benefactor | Mr and Mrs John D Rockefeller make a gift of "The Perfectionist" by Grant Wood to the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. The drawing is part of the M H de Young Memorial Museum's collection. | de Young Museum | San Francisco |
| Particulars for The Perfectionist (drawing): | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Art Culture | American Art | ||
| Art Medium | Chalk | soft, porous white mineral composed of fine-grain limestone | |
| Art Type | Drawing | a picture or diagram made with a pencil, pen, or crayon rather than paint | |
| Art Material | Graphite | crystalline allotrope of carbon consisting of layers of graphene, dark gray color, soft metallic luster, greasy texture | |
| Art Medium | Ink | gel, sol, or liquid containing colorants (dyes or pigments) used to color a surface for writing, drawing, or printing | |
| Art Medium | Paper | thin sheets from the pulp of wood or other fibrous substances | |
| Historic Use | Work of Art | ||
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