"American Gothic" Statue Leaves Chicago for Arizona

After living on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile for more than a year, the colossal statue modeled after Grant Wood’s “American Gothic” has found a new home in Mesa, Arizona. The city is showing off its patriotism with the 25-foot “God Bless America” statue of the stoic senior citizens from sculptor Seward Johnson Jr. that has also had extended stays in New York and Florida. “I want to invite us to ‘look back’ at these images and discover what we’ve learned since they first became icons to us, and how our understanding or point of view many have shifted since then,” the artist said of his 8,000 pound creation. The statue is expected to be erected by March 5 and visitors, who couldn’t miss their new grimacing neighbors if they wanted to, can pay them a visit until July 15.