Hidden Histories:
A Queer and Trans Art Journey

Did you know that Grant Wood, the artist behind American Gothic (1930), was queer? While his famous painting is often seen as a straightforward depiction of rural America, a closer look at Wood’s life reveals a much more complex story. His personal experiences—his deep bond with his sister Nan (who posed for the painting), his close relationships with male assistants, and his coded artistic expressions—challenge the traditional narrative surrounding his work. As the Whitney Museum’s recent retrospective put it, “Wood’s homosexuality is the code that unlocks the truth to his art.”

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In this innovative course, we’ll uncover the hidden histories of queer and trans artists from 1830 onward, exploring how gender and sexuality have shaped art and society, past and present. From 19th-century painters navigating coded visual languages such as Thomas Eakins and John Singer Sargent, to 20th-century artists like Charles Demuth, Marsden Hartley and Florine Stettheimer, ​we’ll explore the ways in which queer and trans identities have influenced artistic movements, often in ways that mainstream history has overlooked.