(Radio Iowa) – The Sioux City Art Center is sending a mural painted by Grant Wood almost 100 years ago out for some restoration work. The “Corn Room Mural” was originally commissioned for the Martin Hotel in Sioux City in 1926 and at one point was covered in wallpaper and paint in the 1950’s before it was recovered in 1979.

Art Center curator Christopher Atkins says the mural gives a good view of a very different time in Sioux City 100 years ago. There are several sections and they will be taken to Minneapolis in two phases for the renovation work. Eugene Eppley also commissioned corn murals for their hotels in Council Bluffs and Cedar Rapids.

Grant Wood’s Corn Room Mural (Sioux City Art Center photo)

Wood is from Anamosa and in 1930 painted “American Gothic” which became his most recognized work.