Going Beyond The Age Barrier

Anna Mary Robertson Moses (September 7, 1860 – December 13, 1961), or Grandma Moses, was an American folk artist. She began painting in earnest at the age of 78 and is a prominent example of a newly successful art career at an advanced age. Her works have been shown and sold worldwide, including in museums, and have been merchandised such as on greeting cards. Sugaring Off was sold for US$1.2 million in 2006.

Moses appeared on magazine covers, television, and in a biographical documentary. Her autobiography is My Life's History, she won numerous awards, and she held two honorary doctoral degrees.

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.

She was a live-in housekeeper for a total of 15 years, starting at age 12. An employer noticed her appreciation for their prints made by Currier and Ives, and they supplied her with drawing materials. 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. They had ten children, five of whom survived infancy. She embroidered pictures with yarn, until disabled by arthritis.

At 75, Moses' fingers became too stiff to hold a needle. Rather than give in to debility, she went out to the barns and began to paint. On the panels she created scenes of country life in brilliant colors. For the first few years she either gave the paintings away or they were sold for a pittance. Later she was recognized by the art world. Between the start of her painting career at age of 75 and her death at 101 in 1961, Grandma Moses painted approximately 16,000 painting, some 250 of those were painted after her 100th birthday!

I admire her, she is brilliant!!