Like the Mona Lisa, this painting has become a cultural icon enshrined in ambiguity. When Wood first painted it, some Iowa farmers were furious because the painting made them look like "pinched, grim-faced, puritanical Bible-thumpers." Critics like Gertrude Stein hailed the painting as an amusing satire of rural small town life. But, as the Depression worsened, some saw strength in those steadfast glares facing hardship. The painting began to be interpreted as honest, straightforward, hardworking bedrock rural America, a symbol of the pioneering spirit that never gives up. They are simple, ordinary folk: she with her apron trimmed in rick-rack, a cameo holding tight the white collar of her modest print dress; and he in faded overalls and an old jacket, tightly gripping a pitchfork, ready to shovel manure or face down any bill collector.
