A Gift of Red Flannels, Part 2

At the conclusion of the Spencer Hastings' guest posting of April 4, 2018, referenced earlier in Part 1 of A Gift of Red Flannels, I included a copy of a painting Grant Wood had completed. Coincidentally, this particular painting was emailed to me by my good friend, Joe of New York City, the same week as the Hastings' story was to be posted. Like “Midnight Alarm,” the forwarded painting featured a union suit too. Albeit unworn by anyone. 

The composition was of a farmhouse, trees, sheds, fencing and a suit of long white underwear hanging on a clothesline. It was of the boyhood home of fellow Iowan, President Herbert Hoover. The drying union suit in view no doubt belonged to our thirty-first president. Joe told me he had seen Wood's tribute to Hoover displayed in New York's Whitney Museum:

After the 2018 Hastings' posting, I heard from several of USF blog readers, including my pal Sam of Upper Lower Michigan. He emailed me a sketch by Grant Wood featuring union suits. So, in a subsequent posting on April 20, 2018, “More Grant Wood, Artist and Union Suit Fan,” I included his very amusing drawing. In this one, a mid-western pioneer woman is shown hanging out her husband's freshly washed union suits on a make-shift prairie closeline. Several Indians are helping themselves to the underwear. Wearing only loin clothes themselves, they seemed puzzled as to what the unusual clothing is and how it might be worn.

Like Joe, Sam and me, Wood found humor in warm, inviting, one-piece long underwear, called “Union Suits.”

After hearing from Bob Wadsten, I enthusiastically dug deeper into his grandfathers' red flannels. I uncovered long forgotten newspaper reports about Grant Wood's search for that certain type of long underwear and Gustav Wadsten's answering Wood's call by providing him with his father's 1880's union suit.

In addition to the articles Bob had sent to me, I discovered newspaper clippings which further explained why Wood was not interested in procuring just any ol' union suit. He wanted an authentic one from the earliest days, circa the 1880's, if possible. He had searched and searched in vain, traveling the mid-western states of Iowa, Minnesota, and Ilinois, but to no avail. 

Finally, Wood decided to advertise for “red flannel underwear.” He received various overtures but turned down offers of inferior style underwear. He didn't need two piece shirt and drawers, red petticoats, or long sleeved flannel undershirts without attached drawers as were offered. The underwear most definitely had to be a one piece button-up suit, red in color and made of flannel just like men of the late nineteenth century would have worn. Oh yes, it must show wear. A brand new, pristine union suit would not be "authentic" enough since surely a farmer, having worked hard all week, would most assuredly have had on “broken in” underwear just like the overalls, work shirt, boots and socks he would have worn.

Midwestern journalists, having gotten wind of Wood's classified newspaper searches, began joyfully writing extensively about his underwear quest. And finally, newspaper articles chronicled the fact that a “suit”able union suit had been located. As it turned out, the long red underwear donated by Bob Wadsten's grandfather, Gustav Wadsten, was a popular topic back in 1935. Click or tap on these articles to enlarge, if necessary, to view:

Wood's search for specific red flannel underwear was picked up by newspapers across the nation such as this one from Santa Barbara, California's The Morning Press:

"In the old days, when men were men...red flannel was symbolic of the gruelling lives they led...By their underwear ye know them."

Time magazine asked for a responce from Wood as to a feature they had previously published. Obliging, he mailed his answer to the Time editors objecting to certain errors in their article:

Interesting that Wood did not want the Time's readers to think modern day men and boys in Iowa were rubes wearing long red flannel underwear in mass. With tongue in cheek no doubt, the Time Magazine editor thanked Wood for "clarifying the underwear fashion in Iowa." The editor also verified that Wood paid $10 for the union suit.

As established, Grant Wood decided not to pursue "The Bath - 1880.” At least one other later report, attributed to his sister after his death, indicated he felt he had received poor publicity surrounding his project from the press after their initial part in assisting him in finding the union suit to begin with. He wondered if this underwear undertaking could hurt his reputation as a serious artist and art teacher? He apparently concluded that it would and abandoned the project.

It must have been upsetting to many of his contemporary fans upon learning he had just been about to begin the widely covered, proposed painting the very week after having received the coveted union suit, but decided against doing so. He had been all set to begin, the sketch drawn, a model chosen, the underwear located and received. To my great disappointment, the painting, “The Bath – 1880” was never forthcoming. In the end Wood decided against pursuing his planned work dedicated to a Saturday night bath, a wooden bath tub, and a farmer undressed down to his long, red flannel underwear. We modern day union suit wearers would have appreciated that historic piece, a warm, fun, and inviting endeavor. I suspect the Wadsten's would have too.

My research also resulted in the discovery of a book devoting an entire chapter on the search and resolution of the almost famous red flannel union suit. The 1944 book, "Artist In Iowa A Life Of Grant Wood" by Darrell Garwood, detailed Wood's search and ultimate decision to discard plans for the painting. Garwood goes into much more detail as to why the famous artist decided to abandon his plan for “The Bath - 1880.” This book also explores the little known or remembered fact that Wood married a woman named Sarah. I don't believe the author or publisher would mind you taking a look at Chapter 28, Page 184 entitled "Fame and Red Flannels":

https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.89523/2015.89523.Artist-In-Iowa-A-Life-Of-Grant-Wood_djvu.txt

Well, there you have it. Hope you agree with me the adventure of the Wadsten gift of red flannel underwear is one for the ages.

Happy New Year Union Suit fans and to you, Bob Wadsten. And, thanks for contacting me with a most interesting take on your family's gift of red flannels! … Chris Ayers.

An email from Bob Wadsten added January 3, 2021:

Chris, Great piece of writing and very interesting.  Once again, thanks very much for bringing this aspect of our family history to light.  I will continue to search for my great-grandfathers union suit and will hopefully have interesting news for you and your readers.  I hope to devote some time to finding a red union suit in the very near future – will keep you posted.  Hope you had a very Merry Christmas and all the best for a Happy New Year. 

Gratefully, Bob

Union Suit Fans: Thanks to Bob for his story. If any of you happen to run across information that could lead to the whereabouts of the Wadsten red flannel underwear, be sure to contact me and I will pass along to Bob. My own search has come up with nothing... Chris