Mid Century American reproduction print “Honorary Degree” by Grant Wood

This Mid century American reproduction print “Honorary Degree” is by Grant Wood.
An alternative title for this trenchant satire might have been Apotheosis of Nonentity. For here, in what might at first glance look like a surgical operation in a cathedral, Grant Wood has caricatured a disagreeable American vice: glorification of the second-rate by mumbo jumbo. The squat, paunchy, mind-less, and self-satisfied center of academic attention in this mysterious ceremony has just presented the old alma mater with a new, if slightly reduced, replica of the Yale Bowl. In return for this support of enlightenment and culture, he is becoming an honorary doctor of law. From their well-shod feet, which give the three figures a little the appearance of magnified penguins, to their extremely unbecoming mortarboards, these celebrants of a now meaningless rite are unconscious that they border on the obscene.
The healthy, laughing hatred of sham that motivates a lithograph of this sort is apt to make the observer underrate the artistry with which it is projected.
Notice the stance of the magnifico who is handing Mr. Dope his diploma. Is it not the very essence of petty importance? And is not the entire vacuity of Dope himself expressed in his flat-footed, well-fed posture? It leaves no doubt that he is one of the characters in Who's Who, and will be mourned by many when he dies— particularly after the reading of his will.

Size: 9”W x 12”H

Condition: Vintage / Antique / Print in excellent condition with yellowing around the edges

Country of Origin: USA