Amidst the toils and stresses of everyday life, Anna Mary Robertson “Grandma” Moses let a little bit of delight, joy, and peace of home slip into a distracted world. She painted scenes from her early life in rural New England, describing them as “old-timey.” Not known for embracing fundamental laws of realistic art, Grandma Moses was still able to capture the spirit and magic of a precious time in her past. She said of her painting that she would “get an inspiration and start painting; then I’ll forget everything, everything except how things used to be and how to paint it so people will know how we used to live.”^1 Her art had the ability to draw people in, to instill a sensation of peace and optimism, to experience the homeyness of the life she portrayed.
Grandma Moses was born on September 7, 1860 in Greenwich, New York. She did not start seriously painting until she was 78 and was considered to be a folk artist. The New York Times said of her, “The simple realism, nostalgic atmosphere and luminous color with which Grandma Moses portrayed simple farm life and rural countryside won her a wide following. She was able to capture the excitement of winter’s first snow, Thanksgiving preparations and the new, young green of oncoming spring… In person, Grandma Moses charmed wherever she went. A tiny, lively woman with mischievous gray eyes and a quick wit, she could be sharp-tongued with a sycophant and stern with an errant grandchild.”^1
Below are featured a postage stamp honoring her and displaying her Fourth of July, as well as A May Morning.
^1″Obituary: Grandma Moses Is Dead at 101; Primitive Artist ‘Just Wore Out'”. New York Times. December 14, 1961.