Grandma Moses American Primitive

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Grandma Moses American Primitive was the first popular catalog of works by Grandma Moses by Otto Kallir, published in 1946.

Moses’ first solo exhibition had taken place in 1940 "What a Farmwife Painted", at the Galerie St. Etienne in New York. It was organized by Louis J. Caldor and Otto Kallir and since that time Kallir himself had become a firm admirer and promoter of the artist's work. He believed the choice of works in the 1940 exhibition "included many of her early attempts in which her great talent was scarcely recognizable." [1]

Kallir decided to make a catalog based on Grandma Moses' own words on the occasion of her 85th birthday in 1945. He chose to add "American Primitive" to the title and gave the work the subtitle "Forty paintings with comments by Grandma Moses - together with her life's history". He then wrote an essay that partially rejected the "primitive" label that he felt responsible for, writing "It is important, however, not to confuse “primitive” with “self-taught” artists." [1]

Louis Bromfield wrote the introduction, and Hildegard Bachert transcribed interviews with the artist to develop an ego-document that could be illustrated with a selection of paintings that reflected events and scenes from her life. The selection of paintings each accompanied a story from the artist's childhood in her own words. Two of the forty paintings were illustrated in color (Sugaring Off, and Old Oaken Bucket). Though the text and formatting were the same, the second edition switched the order of the paintings that accompanied the artist's stories in order to accompany two more color illustrations (The Old Checkered House in 1860, and Early Springtime on the Farm). These were the first published color illustrations of Grandma Moses paintings and they proved so popular that Kallir first registered her paintings with the Copyright Office in Washington and then arranged for large, higher quality prints that were published in 1948 to accommodate demand. [2]

The list of 42 paintings follows which were included in both the 1946 and 1947 editions. These paintings were referenced with the acronym "GMAP", in Kallir's 1973 catalogue raisonné. Since the plate numbers were different but the topic selections were the same, this list is ordered by painting date. Only four paintings were included from the 1940 exhibition. The 1973 catalogue raisonné numbers and Grandma Moses record book numbers are also included along with known owner information:

title1940 exhibition nr.GMAP 1946 plate nr.GMAP 1947 plate nr.1973 Kallir cat. nr."RB" nr.latest date paintedcollection / owner
Shenandoah Valley, South Branch2048511938Louis J. Caldor
Bringing in the Maple Sugar1937421939Otto Kallir
Sugaring Off in Maple Orchard610561940Sidney Janis
Cambridge in the Valley2559111940Louis J. Caldor
On the Road to Greenwich27A812261940Louis J. Caldor
Home of Hezekiah King, 177610141873021942
Black Horses 9131811942Otto Kallir
Over the Bridge to Grandma's House13171301942
A Fire in the Woods7112974621943 Ala Story
The Trappers II11152213361943 Frank Jay Gould
Missouri12162243401943Galerie St. Etienne
Checkered House 173171943IBM
McDonnell Farm 18213135181943The Phillips Collection
The Old Checkered House in 186033875921943Ala Story
Over the River to Grandma's House14182774431943Jack Kapp
Mt. Nebo in Winter16202754411943Bennington Museum
Sugaring Off 112764421943Galerie St. Etienne
Catching the Thanksgiving Turkey15192603531943
The Old Oaken Bucket222383431943
Home for Thanksgiving262844110361944
Old Red Mill21244801944Jane Elizabeth Gosden
Hoosick Falls in Winter 23264258101944 The Phillips Collection
The Old Automobile242744210361944
In the Park19223436001944Galerie St. Etienne
In the Springtime20233315281944Susan Vanderpoel Hun
Out for the Christmas Trees2544410381944
In Harvest Time22253795831944
The Lookout, 1777, Vermont313250810321945
Our Barn393954110611945
Haying Time282948510111945
May: Making Soap, Washing Sheep323350910331945 Miss Porter's School
A Winter's Day, 1870333451110351945Jane Winton
Bondsville Fair343549710231945
Going to Church353650210271945
Wash Day 363749810241945 Rhode Island School of Design Museum
Whiteside Church383854310631945 Smithsonian American Art Museum
Picnic303148410101945
Early Springtime on the Farm37650010261945
The Lonely Tramp or Traveler404048310031945
The First Skating293048610131945
Here Comes Aunt Judith458110981946
Grandma Moses Goes to the Big City 27557710911946Smithsonian American Art Museum


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<i>Checkered House</i> (Grandma Moses) 1943 painting by Grandma Moses

Checkered House is a 1943 oil painting by the American outsider painter Grandma Moses, produced at age 83 and signed "Moses". It was sold at Sotheby's in 2016.

Thanksgiving Turkey is a 1943 oil painting by the American outsider painter Grandma Moses, produced at age 83 and signed "Moses". It has been in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art since 1950.

A Fire in the Woods is a 1947 oil painting by the American outsider painter Grandma Moses, produced at age 87 and signed "Moses". It has been in the collection of the National Gallery of Art since 1999.

Hoosick Falls in Winter is a 1944 oil painting by the American outsider painter Grandma Moses, produced at age 84 and signed "Moses". It has been in the collection of The Phillips Collection since 1949.

Wash Day is a 1945 oil painting by the American outsider painter Grandma Moses, produced at age 85 and signed "Moses". It has been in the collection of the Rhode Island School of Design Museum since 1946.

The Battle of Bennington is a 1953 oil painting by the American outsider painter Grandma Moses, produced at age 93 and signed "Moses". It has been in the collection of the Bennington Museum since 2014.

Black Horses, or Lower Cambridge Valley is a 1942 oil painting by the American outsider painter Grandma Moses, produced at age 82 and signed "Moses". It was in the collection of Otto Kallir in 1975.

<i>Great Fire (The Burning of Troy in 1862)</i> 1959 painting by Grandma Moses

Great Fire is a 1959 oil painting by the American outsider painter Grandma Moses, produced at age 99 and signed "Moses". It has been in the collection of the Bennington Museum since 2024.

The Old Oaken Bucket is a 1945 oil painting by the American outsider painter Grandma Moses, produced at age 85 and signed "Moses". It has been in the collection of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden since 1974.

White Christmas is a 1954 oil painting by the American outsider painter Grandma Moses, produced at age 94 and signed "Moses". It was in the collection of Irving Berlin.

Grandma Moses Goes to the Big City is a 1946 oil painting by the American outsider painter Grandma Moses, produced at age 86 and signed "Moses". It has been in the collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum since 2016.

What a Farmwife Painted was the first solo exhibition of works by Grandma Moses at the Galerie St. Etienne in October 1940.

<i>Grandma Moses record book</i> Record book for tracking paintings

The Grandma Moses record book is a small book given in 1941 to Grandma Moses by her brother Fred E. Robertson for keeping track of the titles of paintings she made. According to Otto Kallir in 1975, "The book is bound in black boards; it measures 7 1/2 by 10 inches and bears the word "Record" in gold lettering on the cover. The pages are numbered from 1 to 152."

The McDonnell Farm is a 1943 oil painting by the American outsider painter Grandma Moses, produced at age 83 and signed "Moses". It has been in the collection of The Phillips Collection since 1944.

Sugaring Off is a 1943 oil painting by the American outsider painter Grandma Moses, produced at age 83 and signed "Moses". It is in the collection of the Galerie St. Etienne.

References

  1. 1 2 What a Farmwife Painted discussed by Otto Kallir in Grandma Moses American Primitive, 1947
  2. ↑ Kallir 1973, page 103
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