For 46 years in a row, I’ve traveled across our state to meet with Iowans in every county, every year. Each time, I learn something new in the county I’m visiting and enjoy getting a first-hand look at high-quality goods and services made here in Iowa. Some things never change, such as Iowans’ productivity and humility. Iowans don’t brag enough to showcase the innovation, pioneering spirit and community vitality that’s part of our heritage, anchoring our economy and enriching civic life.

A century ago, a native Iowan captured the essence of self-reliance intrinsic to closely knit farm communities and small towns. He referred to himself as a farmer-painter, often wearing denim overalls. Grant Wood was born on a farm near Anamosa on Feb. 13, 1891, and died in Iowa City on Feb. 12, 1942. His paintings offer visual testimony to rural simplicity, polished landscapes and the survival mode of Midwesterners during the Great Depression. He sought to paint his neighbors, “their clothes, their homes, the patterns on their tablecloths and curtains” to illustrate their work ethic, rural American values and agricultural innovation.

Early in his career, he found work in Cedar Rapids, painting murals for stores and restaurants, designing corn-themed décor for hotels, and taking on home interior design projects. One of his most stunning works of art took him to Germany, where he supervised the manufacture of the 24-foot-high, stained-glass Veterans Memorial Window in Cedar Rapids.

Wood’s most famous work, “American Gothic,” was inspired by a farmhouse now known as the American Gothic House. Today, visitors can go to Eldon and bring the iconic painting to life. It’s been referred to as America’s “Mona Lisa,” inspiring Hollywood, pop culture and politics. “American Gothic” is a timeless tribute to Midwestern grit.

This year Americans will celebrate the 250th anniversary of our nation’s independence, an opportunity to reflect on the ethos of the American Dream handed down from one generation to the next. Through his work, Wood shared his love of history and country to preserve for posterity the virtues and “bits of American folklore that are too good to lose,” including “The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere” and “Parson Weems’ Fable.”

As his national profile rose, Wood co-founded the Stone City Colony and Art School to collaborate with and inspire Midwestern artists. Later, he joined the art department at the University of Iowa and served as director of the Public Works of Art Project, part of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal program. The artistic fruits of those years can be found in murals across Iowa, on the walls of post offices and public buildings in communities across the state, including the Iowa State University library. His work evokes the philosophy of one of the nation’s greatest orators, U.S. Sen. Daniel Webster: “The farmers therefore are the founders of human civilization.” Wood championed the Regionalist Movement to celebrate America’s heartland and ordinary working people. According to Wood, “… I had in mind something which I hope to convey to a fairly wide audience in America – the picture of a country rich in the arts of peace; … a lovely nation, infinitely worthy of any sacrifice necessary to its preservation.”

Just as Wood took pride in his rural roots, Iowa takes pride in this native son whose work memorialized a way of life. His life and legacy are honored many times over in the Hawkeye State, particularly in the seven-county region in east central Iowa known as The Corridor.

The Grant Wood Scenic Byway is an 80-mile route featuring farms, fields and limestone bluffs between Cedar Rapids and the Mississippi River.

Wood’s home in Iowa City, 1142 Court St., is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

In 2004, the Iowa State Quarter became the 29th coin in the 50 State Quarters Program. Its design is based on Wood’s “Arbor Day” painting with his name inscribed on the reverse.

“Young Corn” and “American Gothic” were featured on U.S. postage stamps to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Iowa’s statehood in 1996 and the Four Centuries of American Art in 1998.

In 2009, Wood posthumously received the Iowa Award, the state’s highest citizen honor.

This year, Wood’s Corn Room mural commissioned for hotels in Cedar Rapids, Council Bluffs, Waterloo and Sioux City will celebrate its 100th anniversary. In March, the Sioux City Art Center will celebrate the return of the newly restored historic piece by which Wood celebrated his heritage and upbringing in the Corn Belt, a connection I encourage Iowans to celebrate for generations to come.

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Charles Grassley, a Republican from New Hartford,

represents Iowa in the United States Senate.