Grandma Moses 1860-1961

Meet the Artist: Anna Mary was born on a farm in Greenwich, New York, on September 7, 1860, just as the U.S. was entering the Civil War. Her family owned a farm and she met her husband Thomas Moses on a farm. Together, they ran a very successful farm. Her husband died when Mary was 66, she felt very lonely, so to pass the time she began to paint. She became a more serious painter at the age of 80, that is way she is known as “Grandma Moses”

Her Painting Style: Can you guess the seasons? How can you tell? She is known for being a Folk Artist; Documenting rural life in the 19th Century. She painted the surrounding countryside of her childhood farm and painted scenes showing us the changing seasons. Can you guess the seasons? How can you tell?

Cool Facts: When she had done quite a few paintings, her son brought them to a local Pharmacy/Drug Store to display them in the window for sale.  One day an art collector from New York City named Louis J. Caldor saw the paintings.  He bought all of her paintings and inquired about getting more of them.  He was given the directions to Grandma Moses’ house, and upon meeting her, bought all of the paintings she had on hand.  He took them back with him to New York and started showing them to several art museums.  One gallery decided to have an exhibit of her work, and they called it “What a Farmwife Painted”.  This was in 1940 when Grandma Moses was 80.  After this showing she became very famous and won many awards for her art.