Since its creation in 1930, Grant Wood’s American Gothic has endured as one of the most iconic American works of art. The instantly recognizable oil painting depicts a farmer and his daughter standing stoically in front of a farmhouse, and is currently housed on display in the Art Institute of Chicago.
And during one hilarious Season 38 sketch, Saturday Night Live told the story of how the famous painting came to be…and why it took Wood longer than he expected to create his masterpiece.
“American Gothic,” from SNL‘s November 10, 2012 episode, stars Jason Sudeikis as the man and Host Anne Hathaway as the woman, with Taram Killam providing the voice of artist Wood from off camera.
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SNL Season 38’s “American Gothic” introduces the man and woman who play the farmer and his daughter
The sketch opens in the Chicago museum, with a tour guide (Kenan Thompson) providing a brief history of the famous piece to museum guests. Then the sketch shifts into a flashback scene, harkening back to the day Woods painted his two subjects in front of the impressive Carpenter Gothic-style home.
As it turns out, his subjects were way too outgoing for his liking. In fact, Byron (Sudeikis) and Nan (Hathaway) — who aren’t actually related at all, as viewers quickly learn — prove to be far more excited to be part of the portrait session than the artist anticipated.
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The sketch gives Sudekis and Hathaway plenty of opportunities to show off their ample physical comedy skills.
From being way too goofy with their poses (“I’m a lizard. The kids love it,” Hathaway’s Nan says while sticking her tongue out repeatedly) to attempting to involve Nan’s corn husk dolls in the shot (“She makes corn puppets, Grant!” an overjoyed Byron announces as Nan beams proudly), the scene is in the running for most unhinged portrait session of all time.
The duo’s enthusiasm is impressive, and SNL‘s live audience eats it up.
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Anne Hathaway shows off her eye-crossing skills in SNL’s “American Gothic”
Hathaway delivers some of the biggest laughs in the sketch after her character reveals that her eyes get crossed (“When I take off my glasses, my eyes, they go like this,” she confesses). But only when she looks in a certain direction, to the artist’s chagrin.
Even after handing the farmer a pitchfork, the duo is all smiles; a far cry from the final product that is currently hanging in the Art Institute of Chicago.
But eventually, things take a grim turn.
“Hey, so Grant, buddy, how long you think this is gonna take?” Byron innocently asks.
And that’s when Wood says the words that cause Byron and Nan to strike the famously somber poses he immortalized on canvas. Watch “American Gothic” above, and stream every episode of Saturday Night Live on Peacock anytime.
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