4 stars
Anna Mary Robertson Moses or "Grandma" Moses began painting in her mid-seventies. A self-taught American folk artist she lived to be 101 (1860-1961)! I first came across her paintings in high school and was struck by her simple and enjoyable style. I picked up this small book and was inspired once again - a great Saturday afternoon read & viewing. I found myself lost in her simple and colorful pastorals of a time without the distractions of blogs, email, facebook, and cell phones. In her own words,
I like pretty things the best. What's the use of painting a picture if it isn't something nice? So I think real hard till I think of something real pretty, and then I paint it. I like to paint old-timey things, historical landmarks of long ago, bridges, mills, and hostelries, those old-time homes, there are a few left, and they are going fast. I do them all from memory, most of them are daydreams, as it were. (p. 36)
The book includes a short biography and then takes you on a visual tour of 25 of her 1,000+ paintings that she did in her later years. Here's one quote from the opening biography of this book by Kallir: "Fame is a strange commodity, and it sometimes difficult to determine whether it is due more to luck or merit." ~ Grandma Moses had both...I highly recommend her obituary link below.
see her obituary here
see some her paintings here
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