Grandma Moses
American Folk Artist
1
Anna Mary Robinson
September 7,1860-December 13, 1961
Anna Mary Robinson was the 3rd of 10 children.
Born on a farm, farming was her life until she
could no longer do it due to age and arthritis.
What little formal education she had was in a
one room school house. At age 12 she left home
and worked as a hired “girl” for wealthier
people.
The school house that
Grandma Moses attended is
now part of the Bennington
Museum in Bennington,
Vermont.
In 1887 when she was 27 she met Thomas
Moses, a hired hand on the farm where she
was doing the housework. They were
married and had 10 children—5 of which
died at childbirth.
This is considered to be the
first “painting” Grandma
Moses did. It is called
“Fireboard” and is displayed
in the Bennington Museum
today. She painted this
because she ran out of
wallpaper. To finish the
room she put up white paper
and painted this scene.
“On a farm the days are nearly all the same, nothing changes
but the seasons. In the early morning, before the sun was up,
I would dress and build the fire, and put on the tea kettle for
hot water; go out to the hen house, feed and water the
chickens, come in and get breakfast, calling all hands to the
table. By this time, the men have finished the milking, and
the horses have been curried and fed, ready for work. Coffee
and hot cakes are all ready, now we have breakfast. Then for
five to six hours in the field and in the house. Then a good
dinner and back to work again until sundown., then supper
and the milking; and….then bed till another day.”
….Grandma Moses
What was life like during Grandma
Moses’s lifetime?
Born in 1860—the same
year Abraham Lincoln
was elected President.
These were invented during her lifetime: vacuum cleaner (1899—a man went door to
door with it on a horse drawn carriage), the light bulb (1879), the telephone (1876)
and the gas powered car (1865)
Other “inventions” during Grandma
Moses’s life included:
The Teddy Bear (1902), Crayons
(1903), Band Aids (1920), Hot
Dogs (1860), TV ( invented in
1927 but not marketed until the
1940’s)
After Grandma Moses was married,
she and her husband rented a farm
near Staunton, Virginia. They stayed in
Virginia for 20 years. While there, in
addition to caring for the children and
running the house, Mother Moses (as
she was called then) made butter and
potato chips and sold them to the
neighbors.
They returned to New York and
continued farming there. Mr. Moses
died in 1927 and for several years
Grandma Moses tried to operate the
farm with the help of her son, Forrest.
She had to eventually give up farm
chores and then her embroidery due
to arthritis. Her embroidery pictures
were based on scenes from old Currier
and Ives calendar pictures as well as
greeting cards.
This picture shows a winter landscape and a “sleigh
ride.”
CURRIER AND IVES
These are images from Currier and Ives—one of the major
influences of her art work. Currier and Ives were “publishers of
cheap and popular prints” which included cards and calendars.
This is an original “worsted” picture made by
Grandma Moses using yarns. It is in the Galerie
St. Etienne in New York.
What is Folk Art?
Folk art is created
by artists who haven’t had any art
classes or any special training. She didn’t
start painting until she could no longer
do needlework—at age 76. All of her
paintings were memories of things
past—her long life as a farm child, hired
girl and farmer’s wife. She called her
paintings “old timey” New England
landscapes.
Her first
paintings were
sent to a county
fair along with
samples of her
raspberry and
strawberry jam.
Her jam won a
ribbon but no
one even
noticed her
paintings.
So how in the world
did she become
famous?
During her lifetime, Grandma Moses
painted more than 1000 paintings, 25 of
them after her 100th birthday.
The paintings had been in a local drug store
for an art and craft exchange—actually for
two years when an art collector named
Louis Calder was driving through Hoosick
Falls, noticed them—and bought them all!
(They were priced between $3 and $5!) Not
only did he buy the ones on display but he
also drove to her home and bought ten
others she had there.
In 1940 her paintings were in a “one
woman show” called “What a Farmwife
Painted” in a gallery in New York.
Art dealers had no problem with her art
work—they really liked it. What they had a
problem with was her age! They were
afraid she was going to die soon or get sick
and not be able to paint any more.
While the gallery exhibit was a modest
success, her “stardom” came when a
number of her paintings were displayed
at Gimbels Department Store in New
York for their Thanksgiving Festival.
Grandma Moses went to Gimbels in
New York with her daughter in law but
she talked about her jams and jellies—
NOT her paintings. The press fell in love
with her. What happened next is
unequalled in the “tales” of folk art.
She became a superstar. She didn’t do
it on purpose—it just happened!
As a self taught “folk artist”
Grandma Moses started painting
what she called “lambscapes” as
a young girl and used the juice of
grapes and lemons to get colors.
Imagine her first paintings selling
for $3 and within her lifetime,
they were selling for $8,000$10,000!
Postage stamps, an award from
President Harry S. Truman, the
cover of Life and Time magazine,
a TV interview, books----all honors
Grandma Moses received.
Birthday celebrations! When you turn
100 AND 101 there are lots of candles on
your cake!
She would paint 5-6 hours a day and
preferred the morning since she
said her hands were “stiddier.” Her
‘studio’ was her kitchen and her
‘easel’ was an old kitchen table! She
was a tiny woman and sat on an old
battered, swivel chair with two large
pillows on it. She shared her
“studio” with the electric washer
and dryer! At night after dinner, she
liked to watch Westerns---not for
the drama but because she liked
horses.
When Grandma
Moses died at age
101, President
Kennedy paid
tribute to her work
and her life.
“I look back on my
life like a good day’s
work. It was done
and I feel satisfied
with it. I was happy
and contented, I
knew nothing better
and made the best
out of what life
offered. And life is
what we make it,
always has been,
always will be.”
…..Grandma Moses
Bennington Museum
Bennington, Vermont
• Things to remember:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Grandma Moses was born in
1860—the same year Abraham
Lincoln was elected President.
The inspiration for her paintings
were her memories of her long life
as a farm child, hired worker and
farmer’s wife.
She had no formal training as an
artist. (Folk Art)
She started painting at age 76
because her arthritis prevented her
from doing needlework.
She painted over 1000 pictures—25
of them after she was 100!
She lived to be 101!
She designed Hallmark cards, was
the subject of books and a
documentary film (the film was
nominated for an academy award),
received a Presidential award, was
on a postage stamp, and the cover
of two magazines!
.