Grandma Moses Country

In charming paintings of "old timey things"—sleigh rides, mills, farms and fields—the artist preserved a simpler, bygone world

  • By Stephen May
  • Smithsonian magazine, April 2001, Subscribe
 

On a spring day in 1938, a New York City civil engineer and art collector, passing through the upstate village of Hoosick Falls, New York, spied four small paintings in the window of a local drugstore. Inquiring inside, Louis J. Caldor found that the paintings, along with several others by the same artist, had been gathering dust, unsold, for about a year. He bought all of them for a few dollars and proceeded to visit the painter on a farm in nearby Eagle Bridge.

 There he purchased another ten works from the surprised, 77-year-old farmer's widow, Anna Mary Robertson Moses, who had only recently taken up painting. Invited to stay for tea, Caldor amazed his hostess and her relatives when he assured them that he was going to make the artist famous. The following year he was able to get three of her works included in a Museum of Modern Art show of self-taught artists and to find a dealer, Otto Kallir, who would champion the elderly painter and launch a quarter-century career that would make her an internationally known celebrity.

The combination of the farmwife's homespun personality, her long life, her charming, naive evocations of rural life, and a rising national interest in folk art catapulted the lady who became known as Grandma Moses to acclaim and fame. A darling of the mass media, saluted by Presidents and collected by prestigious museums, she was welcomed into millions of American homes via magazine articles, radio, television and numerous reproductions of her work. "She's the white-haired girl of the U.S.A. who turned from her strawberry patch to painting the American scene at the wonderful age of 80," trumpeted Gimbel's Department Store, advertsing their Thanksgiving exhibition of her paintings in 1940.

Now, four decades after her death at the age of 101, an ambitious touring retrospective allows Moses' art to be appreciated apart from her persona. "Grandma Moses in the 21st Century," curated by Moses authority Jane Kallir, granddaughter of the artist's dealer, and organized and circulated by Art Services International of Alexandria, Virginia, has opened at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C, where it will be on view through June 10. The exhibition will then travel to the San Diego Museum of Art (June 20-August 26) and will continue on to five additional venues before closing in December 2002. The national tour is sponsored by AARP and is accompanied by a handsome exhibition catalog.


On a spring day in 1938, a New York City civil engineer and art collector, passing through the upstate village of Hoosick Falls, New York, spied four small paintings in the window of a local drugstore. Inquiring inside, Louis J. Caldor found that the paintings, along with several others by the same artist, had been gathering dust, unsold, for about a year. He bought all of them for a few dollars and proceeded to visit the painter on a farm in nearby Eagle Bridge.

 There he purchased another ten works from the surprised, 77-year-old farmer's widow, Anna Mary Robertson Moses, who had only recently taken up painting. Invited to stay for tea, Caldor amazed his hostess and her relatives when he assured them that he was going to make the artist famous. The following year he was able to get three of her works included in a Museum of Modern Art show of self-taught artists and to find a dealer, Otto Kallir, who would champion the elderly painter and launch a quarter-century career that would make her an internationally known celebrity.

The combination of the farmwife's homespun personality, her long life, her charming, naive evocations of rural life, and a rising national interest in folk art catapulted the lady who became known as Grandma Moses to acclaim and fame. A darling of the mass media, saluted by Presidents and collected by prestigious museums, she was welcomed into millions of American homes via magazine articles, radio, television and numerous reproductions of her work. "She's the white-haired girl of the U.S.A. who turned from her strawberry patch to painting the American scene at the wonderful age of 80," trumpeted Gimbel's Department Store, advertsing their Thanksgiving exhibition of her paintings in 1940.

Now, four decades after her death at the age of 101, an ambitious touring retrospective allows Moses' art to be appreciated apart from her persona. "Grandma Moses in the 21st Century," curated by Moses authority Jane Kallir, granddaughter of the artist's dealer, and organized and circulated by Art Services International of Alexandria, Virginia, has opened at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C, where it will be on view through June 10. The exhibition will then travel to the San Diego Museum of Art (June 20-August 26) and will continue on to five additional venues before closing in December 2002. The national tour is sponsored by AARP and is accompanied by a handsome exhibition catalog.

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Comments (18)

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I have a Sugaring Off Lithograph by Grandma Moses. It has been stamped" Final Approval By Miguel Nunez" and also has label that has the size and a series of numbers on the back of the frame. On the front below the print it says Lithograph. I can not find any lithographs online for Grandma Moses.Can you help me.Thank you

Posted by Kelly Bradfield on April 18,2013 | 07:36 PM

My 90 yr old neighbor, whom I consider my Grandmother, just gave me a large portfolio w/8 20" x 14" Grandma Moses prints in it. It also incs. a "Grandma Moses: An Appreciation" written by John Canaday and a biographical note by Otto Kallir, plus picture copies of 2 handwritten notes by her. One from 1948 about herself & one from 1960 to a dear friend.
I'd love to have any & all info. on this collection:)
Thank you in advance,
Christine

Posted by Christine Rotruck on January 4,2012 | 09:51 PM

I also have a S-954 named THE OLD FARM HOUSE BY GM her picture and signature on the back. I would love any information about it? Thank you!

Posted by Jay Dawson Ernst on September 12,2011 | 12:32 PM

I purchased an antique print (large) in a heavy green painted frame. When I looked it up, it is Our for Christmas Trees. It looks to be at least from the 50's possibly the 40's. Worth anything? I have looked at other internet sites only to find reprints.

thanks

Posted by judie fava on August 18,2011 | 03:52 PM

I have six prints of Grandma Moses paintings. They came in a large folder with a picture of Grandma Moses on it and story inside. It belonged to my Grandfather.

I would like to know the value of them. How do I find out?

Posted by Linda Goldfarb on June 18,2011 | 08:16 AM

I have a painting from a friends grandparents estates.
It look so like a Grandma Moses Painting. It is framed so I don't see a signature. It is a winter scene with sledders on a hillside and on the frozen pond. There is a red farmhouse in the backgound...many trees and a bridge with horsedrawn carriage crossing.

This painting also has very small (tiny) white stitching outlining numerous things in the painting.

Please send me any information you might have.
Thank you

Posted by nancy on March 19,2011 | 04:31 PM

Where can I find a picture of Grandma Moses' July 4th painting?
Thanks...

Posted by Barbara Herberholz on February 22,2011 | 04:47 PM

What I have found about July Fourth by Grandma Moses is that she gave this painting to Otto Kallir. He, at some time in his life time, gave the painting to the White House where it is displayed to this day. Sincerely, Jeanne H.Wood

Posted by Jeanne H. Wood on February 11,2011 | 08:54 AM

Our company offers for sale eight Grandma Moses prints, printed over 50 years ago on heavy paper in new condition.

Posted by Jack Reeman on February 7,2011 | 03:08 PM

I have a Grandma Moses picture that I'm trying to find the name of. It is of a grey stall with no front or back. Inside is a woman and two men working on hay. In front of the stall is a red wagon pulled by two horses. To the right front side of the stall are chickens, two brown cows and 3 geese which are right next to the signature. I have looked all over and can't find this painting anywhere. I also believe it's in the original frame (wood outside, then red velvet where the plaque is and then gold next to the picture). How do I know if this is an original?

Posted by Maureen Fahrenholz on February 5,2011 | 02:39 PM

Apple picker original 1954 what is the value of this painting.

Posted by Page gum on January 26,2011 | 08:41 PM

I have 2 large prints which was given to after my parents died. sugaring off by grandma moses and out for the christmas trees.Can you share any information about these prints. They are very old but in excellent shape. thanks

Posted by mildred fike on December 3,2010 | 10:09 PM

We have a Grandma Moses painting, It's Haying Time. I checked on Ebay, and, even though I did not find that particular painting, most of the paintings were selling for less than $30.
How do we know if we have a painting worth much more?

Posted by Lori on November 29,2010 | 12:11 PM

I have(hopefully) an original Grandma Moses of a winter scene. I was told it is titled Springtime. this painting has 7 geese, 2 cows, 2 deer (in the background), the brown house, a red barn and 3 people in different locations. The frame is rather wide, and I fear the artist name is under the framing, I am very hesitant to disturb the framing, as that is very old as well. How can I find out more informtaion about the painting and possibly verifying if it is in original?

Posted by sue melito on November 24,2010 | 06:03 PM



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