2. Grandma Moses Anna Mary Robertson Moses (1860 –1961) PAINTER

3. “GRANDMA” MOSES “Life is what we make it, always
Born in Greenwich, NY Sept. 7, 1860; 1 of 10 children of farmers
Marries farmer Thomas Moses in 1887; they have 10 children, 5 survive
They move to Eagle Bridge, New York, where she lives the rest of her long life
She embroiders scenes in yarn until arthritis causes her to quit and take up painting at age 76
“Life is what we make it, always
has been, always will be”

4. Starts by painting scenes from books on Currier & Ives prints
“I paint from the top down. From the sky, then the mountains, then the hills
then the houses, then the cattle and then the people.”
Starts by painting scenes from books on Currier & Ives prints
An art collector sees her work in a drugstore window: immediate success
Paints happy, “life in the country” images on cardboard
Paints from memory, backgrounds first, then adds people

5. Some of her work is used on Hallmark cards
Prolific artist: 3600 canvasses in 30 years
Before she is famous, sells work for $2-3 per painting

6. Depicts making maple candy in winter
Sugaring Off (1943)
Depicts making maple candy in winter
Sold in 2006 for $1.2 million

7. Catching the Thanksgiving Turkey
(1943)

8. GRANDMA MOSES primitivist
In her paintings there is no despair, unhappiness or aging
On her 100th birthday in 1960, NY Gov. Nelson Rockefeller proclaims “Grandma Moses Day”
Lives near/friends with Norman Rockwell
Died Dec. 13, 1961 at Age 101
“If I didn’t start painting, I would
have raised chickens.”