A Gift of Red Flannels, Part 1

Recently, I received an email from Mr. Bob Wadsten who had discovered my blog, Union Suit Fan, while searching for information regarding a 1935 proposed Grant Wood painting, “The Bath – 1880.” Bob has family ties to a suit of long underwear that was to have been used in the proposed painting. Bob wrote: 

"Thought you might find this interesting. This story is about my grandparents who responded to Grant Wood and sent him the union suit. These stories appeared in the Cedar Rapids, Gazette on January 6, 1935.

Best, Bob Wadsten, Golden Valley, MN"

(Bob included two 1935 newspaper articles to his email.)

In that search of the internet for additional information about Wood's painting, Bob uncovered Spencer Hastings' guest contributor story, “Grant Wood, Union Suit Fan.” I had posted Hasting's account in my blog on April 4, 2018. It featured a Wood lithograph, “Midnight Alarm,” included  among others of an exhibit at the Springfield Art Museum in Missouri. The work was of a young farmer descending the stairs of his farmhouse in the middle of the night, barefoot and wearing only a white union suit. Presumably, a noise had awakened him and he sought the source of the distrubance interrupting his sleep.

1939 Lithograph on Paper
Grant Wood

Within that posting Hastings mentioned a painting, “The Bath – 1880,” planned by Wood, perhaps even sketched out, but never completed, exhibited or sold. After viewing the posting, Bob forwarded me two newspaper offerings he possessed.

With Bob's permission, I'm pleased to pass along this account of one-piece red flannel, somewhat worn, long underwear that was meant to play a central part in the acclaimed artist's planned project. Bob's family story is especially interesting because it closely ties to subject matter I share with my blog viewers. You may need to click or tap on the following articles to see them more clearly:

After receiving these articles from Bob, I emailed him back with my deep appreciation for him forwarding me such information unknown to me. Arguably, the long underwear would become the most famous union suit ever included in a painting by one of America's most famous artists. You will remember, Grant Wood painted the iconic and, some say, controversial “American Gothic” in 1930:

Bob's great grandfather, Lars Wadsten, had first owned and worn the red flannel union suit. Many years later, it was his grandparents who subsequently sent Wood the underwear for his painting. The story of how Gustav Wadsten ended up with the union suit and had even worn it himself, is interesting as well. That long underwear must have been made really well to hold up all those years. The family underwear would no doubt now be central to the theme Wood had in mind.

Responding to my email, thanking him for sending the articles he had saved over the years, Bob wrote: 

"Hi Chris,

You’re welcome – happy to hear that you can appreciate this. It is a remarkable story and one that I heard my Dad recount years ago but never looked into. I learned just recently that Wood abandoned his plans for execution. I don’t know what happened to the union suit as I never heard anything about its disposition."

Bob continued, "As close as I can figure, the union suit belonged to my great-grandfather who emigrated from Sweden in 1868 to Junction City KS and joined the 19^th Kansas Cavalry as an enlistee. He fought in the Battle of The Washita among other adventures. He was born in 1845 to a very wealthy Swedish family and was the only one to emigrate. He went into business in Boston where my grandfather was born in 1885 and eventually ended up and died in Elizabeth City, NC in 1926.

I’m assuming that he sent the union suit to his son, my grandfather, who wound up in Minneapolis in 1915 and where my father was born in 1924...I only recently became interested in digging into the back story of the union suit. I have never worn or seen a union suit except in pictures. I ran across your blog while Googling “Grant Wood” and “The Bath – 1880” and decided to share these old clippings...It would really be fun to see where the union suit ended up. Thanks again for your interest and let’s stay in touch.

Best Regards, Bob Wadsten (Jr.)"

Bob and I have stayed in touch. Not surprisingly, my interest peaked after having heard from him and reading the accounts of his great grandfather's underwear, a soon to be famous union suit. Researching the internet myself, I discovered more information on Wood's search for red flannel underwear and the subsequent donation of the Wadsten union suit. I found several additional newspaper accounts, including one having a photo of Grant Wood and his insistence on a specific suit of long underwear. Another article featured a photo of grandfather Wadsten and an account of his having saved the day by donating his union suit to Wood. Bob had never seen these articles and indicated he was quite interested in seeing and reading about his grandfather in 85 year old newspaper accounts. To view these, click or tap on the articles to enlarge, if necessary:

It's interesting to note the photo of Gustav Wadsten shows him wearing a shirt with an open right hand sleeve. It appears the cuff of his union suit is showing through the opening. Back in 1935 men such as Wood and Wadsten typically wore union suits much, if not most, of the year round, and certainly in January when the photo was taken.

In my upcoming Part 2 of “A Gift of Flannel,” I will share more fascinating 1935 newspaper articles about Wadsten's red flannel underwear. The union suit story is even given its own chapter in a book about Grant Wood which I'll be sure to share with you.

And what became of the Wadsten union suit? Well the possibilities are pretty interesting too. Stay tuned.... Chris