Grandma Moses

Grandma Moses
Grandma Moses, 1953
Born	Anna Mary Robertson (1860-09-07)September 7, 1860 Greenwich, New York, United States
Died	December 13, 1961(1961-12-13) (aged 101) Hoosick Falls, New York, United States
Nationality	United States
Known for	Painting, Embroidery
Notable work	The Old Checkered Inn in Summer
Spouse(s)	Thomas Salmon Moses (1887-1927; his death)

Anna Mary Robertson Moses (September 7, 1860 – December 13, 1961), known by her nickname Grandma Moses, was a renowned American folk artist. Having begun painting in earnest at the age of 78, she is often cited as an example of an individual successfully beginning a career in the arts at an advanced age. Her works have been shown and sold in the United States and abroad and have been marketed on greeting cards and other merchandise. Moses' paintings are among the collections of many museums. The Sugaring Off was sold for US $1.2 million in 2006.

Moses has appeared on magazine covers, television, and in a documentary of her life. She wrote her autobiography, won numerous awards and was awarded two honorary doctoral degrees.

The New York Times said of her: "The simple realism, nostalgic atmosphere and luminous color with which Grandma Moses portrayed simple farm life and rural countryside won her a wide following. She was able to capture the excitement of winter's first snow, Thanksgiving preparations and the new, young green of oncoming spring... In person, Grandma Moses charmed wherever she went. A tiny, lively woman with mischievous gray eyes and a quick wit, she could be sharp-tongued with a sycophant and stern with an errant grandchild."

Starting at 12 years of age and for a total of 15 years, she was a live-in housekeeper. One of the families that she worked for, who noticed her appreciation for their prints made by Currier and Ives, supplied her with art materials to create drawings. Moses and her husband began their married life in Virginia, where they worked on farms. In 1905 they returned to the Northeastern United States and settled in Eagle Bridge, New York. The couple had five children who survived infancy. Her interest in art was expressed throughout her life, including embroidery of pictures with yarn, until arthritis made this pursuit too painful.

Born in Greenwich on September 7, 1860, Anna Mary Robertson was the third of Margaret Shanahan Robertson and Russell King Robertson's ten children. She was raised with four sisters and five brothers. Her father ran a flax mill and was a farmer. Moses attended a one-room school for a short period of time as a child. That school is now the Bennington Museum in Vermont which has the largest collection of her works in the United States.She got inspired to paint from taking art lessons at school. Moses first painted as a child, using lemon and grape juice to make colors for her "landscapes". Other natural materials that she used to create works of art included ground ochre, grass, flour paste, slack lime and sawdust.