From 1925 to 1950, Realism in American art was represented in the American Scene paintings of Regionalist artists like Grant Wood.  Wood found inspiration in the Middle Western countryside, where prosperous farms, folk singers, and revival meetings characterized the idealized American lifestyle and family values.  Popularized by Wood and Thomas Hart Benton in the 1930s, representations of American history and folklore provided an alternative to European values and elitist abstract and modern art. Wood's Sultry Night was published by the Associated American Artists in 1939, but the edition of 250 was never completed because the Post Office forced the gallery to remove the print from sale on a charge of obscenity.