A New American Gothic by Kurt Cobain

Nirvana front man, Kurt Cobain created this illustration in Mr. Robert Hunter’s art class during his 1984-1985 senior year at Weatherwax High School in Aberdeen, Washington. He had long exhibited a talent for creating visual art and as he delved further into punk rock, he identified with the Reagan-era disenfranchisement that was echoed in much of the underground music he was listening to. Cobain’s creative expressions became more unconventional as he grew older, exhibiting a dark sense of humor and a keen interest in Americana kitsch and human anatomy, all of which informed the music and lyrics he created in Nirvana. The artwork was called "A New American Gothic" in reference to Grant Wood's (1891-1942) “American Gothic” painting from 1930. 

Kurt Cobain (1967-1994) was best known as the singer, guitarist and primary songwriter for Nirvana from their formation in 1987 to Cobain’s death by suicide in 1994. Nirvana was one of the primary bands of the Grunge music scene, born out of the Pacific Northwest US in the early 1990s, and which lead to the rise and prominence of Alternative Rock in the 1990s. Cobain became one of the most influential musicians of the 1990s and his legacy reverberates through popular music and culture even today.