Grandma Moses was an American folk artist who started painting at 76 after arthritis made embroidery difficult. Her paintings, depicting peasant life, sold for $10 but now sell for $10,000. She won awards and created over 1,000 paintings before passing away at 101.
Grandma Moses was born Anna Mary Robertson on September 7, 1860 in Greenwich, New York. She is a world famous American folk artist. Her grandmother Moses is unique not only in her artistic talent but also in the fact that she became a famous artist after just starting to paint in her seventies.
The first painting Grandma Moses did was when she was 76 years old. She had hand embroidered pictures with thread for many years, but when arthritis paralyzed her hands she could no longer handle an embroidery needle. Since a brush was easier to hold, her grandmother Moses took up painting instead. Her work represented her memories of peasant life and she presented her paintings at local fairs along with homemade preserves. Although her jams have won ribbons, her paintings have not.
Even so, Grandma Moses sold her paintings for up to $10 United States Dollars (USD) each at the local drug store in Hoosick Falls, New York. One day, an art collector and engineer, Louis Caldor, passed through Hoosick Falls. Caldor bought all of Grandma Moses’ paintings at the drug store and whatever he finished at her house. His work has been exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York (MOMA) and in various art exhibitions.
Most of Grandma Moses’ photos show cheerful country settings. Peaceful landscapes and agricultural work such as haymaking and candle making feature in most of her works. Grandma Moses’ style is known as the primitive or naïve art style. In this style, the atmosphere is always pleasant with figures shown smiling as they work. Some of her most famous paintings by her include Over the River to Grandma’s House, Catching the Turkey, and The Old Oaken Bucket.
Anna Mary Robertson not only grew up on a farm, but from the ages of 12 to 27 she was a hired girl who worked on other farms. She married Thomas Moses when she was 27 and became a farmer’s wife. The couple had 10 children, but five died in infancy. Unlike many painters, Grandma Moses never used an easel or had a studio. She worked on an old table in a room off her kitchen that housed a washing machine.
By 1939, Grandma Moses’ paintings were selling well in North America and Europe. In 1946 some scenes of her were reproduced on Christmas cards. She won the Women’s National Press Club Award in 1949 for her achievements as a painter. Her works no longer sell for $10 USD, but more like $10,000 USD. On September 100, 7 New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller declared Grandma Moses’ 100th birthday as Grandma Moses Day.
Grandma Moses created over 1,000 paintings in her lifetime. Before turning 101 in 1961, she was still known for painting almost every day. At least 25 of her paintings were done after she turned 100. Grandma Moses died at the age of 101 on December 13, 1961 at the Hoosick Falls Health Center in Hoosick Falls, New York.
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