The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere

Grant Wood

1931 · Oil on Masonite · Modern and Contemporary Art

Here, Wood depicts the legendary story of the American patriot Paul Revere, as learned from an 1863 poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. From a bird’s-eye view, the painting shows Revere on horseback racing through a colonial town square in Massachusetts. Despite the work’s historical subject matter, Wood did not attempt to depict the scene with factual accuracy. The houses are overly bright, as if lit by electric light, and the dramatic moonlight casts unrealistic shadows. The stylized houses, geometric greenery, and high perspective give the painting an otherworldly or dreamlike dimension.

Artist

Grant Wood

Date

1931

Medium

Oil on Masonite

Department

Modern and Contemporary Art

Credit line

Arthur Hoppock Hearn Fund, 1950