Grandma Moses, Catching the Thanksgiving Turkey, July, 22, 1944, 19¾“x 26”, oil and glitter on Masonite, Private Collection.

An Old-Timey Thanksgiving

Anna Mary Robertson Moses, also known as Grandma Moses, the American Folk artist, began her artistic career at the ripe age of 78. This self-taught artist painted nostalgic scenes of “old-timey” New England landscapes depicting rural life. She began painting in the late 1930s and by the 1950s exhibitions of her simple and optimistic scenes broke attendance records around the world and Grandma Moses had become a cultural icon.

This painting entitled, Catching the Thanksgiving Turkey, was estimated to sell for $100,000 – $150,000 last week at the American Art sale at Christie’s in New York. The painting realized a price of $245,000. That’s not bad for someone who began selling her paintings for $3 each.

Happy Thanksgiving from The Art Minute