Wood entered the painting in a competition at the Art Institute of Chicago. One judge deemed it a "comic valentine", but a museum patron persuaded the jury to award the painting the bronze medal and a $300 cash prize. The same patron also persuaded the Art Institute to buy the painting, and it remains part of the Chicago museum's collection. The image soon began to be reproduced in newspapers, first by the "Chicago Evening Post", and then in New York, Boston, Kansas City, and Indianapolis. However, when the image finally appeared in the "Cedar Rapids Gazette", there was a backlash. Iowans were furious at their depiction as "pinched, grim-faced, puritanical Bible-thumpers". Wood protested, saying that he had not painted a caricature of Iowans but a depiction of his "appreciation", stating "I had to go to France to appreciate Iowa." In a 1941 letter, Wood said that, "In general, I have found, the people who resent the painting are those who feel that they themselves resemble the portrayal."