Re: American Gothic

On Thu, May 18, 2000, Matthew Krigbaum <mkrigbaum[_at_]moyerbergman.com> wrote:
>
> A client approached me to inquire about licensing the rights to
> use American Gothic painted by Grant Wood in 1930. It is now
> hanging in the Chicago Art Museum. If I calculated the copyright
> terms correctly, the initial term was 28 years, with a renewal of
> 47 years, which has now been extended by 20 years for a total of
> 67 years. If renewed, the term expires in 2025.
>
> Does anyone know whether this was renewed and who owns the
> licensing rights?

The copyright on American Gothic is jointly controlled by the Art Institute of Chicago and the Visual Artists and Galleries Association. It appears to be administered mainly by the latter, and licensing policies are liberal, with one exception: no tobacco or alcohol.

VAGA is involved in a dispute with Coors over the use of the image in a Coors Light ad. Coincidentally (I think) the ad also depicts a gay couple. VAGA says its upset about the beer, not the gay overtones.

-David Hale
 <dhale[_at_]aggt.com> Received on Fri May 19 2000 - 14:38:21 GMT