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Grandma Moses: My Life's History
Anecdotes on the personal life of the American primitive painter highlight a comprehensive catalogue of her works
140 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1952
About the author
Anna Mary Robertson Moses
33 books6 followersPeople noted Anna Mary Robertson Moses, known as Grandma Moses, an America, for her primitive and colorful paintings of rural scenes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grandma...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grandma...
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 24, 2016
I appreciate the editor letting Grandma Moses speak for herself. Warm, witty and simple... this book is a good read.
December 8, 2025
Having grown up poor next to my grandparents’ farm, I've long been interested in primitive objects, folk art, and old-fashioned ways of crafting, preserving food and living the rural life, although I haven't cared to live away from town for most of my adult life.
That interest made me fascinated with Grandma Moses’ folk art for the longest. But I never delved into her history until I recently stumbled across a Smithsonian Magazine article about her because of a current exhibition of her works.
It quotes from Grandma's autobiography, Grandma Moses: My Life's History, original copyright 1948. And I was pleasantly surprised to find that book at my local library.
She painted better than she wrote, I think. But her words were just as simple, explaining her earliest memories, her heritage, how her people ended up in upstate New York and her somewhat circuitous life, many years in the South.
She lived from 1860 to 1961 and she remembered a lot and wrote it down. And she saw a lot, including the end of slavery, and a president after her art was recognized.
Most of the book describes her roots, her personal life and the routine days on the farm. But it was fascinating how crafty she was in an effort to help supplement her progressive husband's farm operations.
In her 70s, she started painting rural scenes and she ended up with exhibitions in galleries in big cities, and the rest is history. But in her book, she probably spent less than 20 pages on her iconic career as an artist.
A sample:
“I have written my life in small sketches, a little today, a little yesterday, as I thought of it, as I remembered all the things from childhood on through the years, good ones, and unpleasant ones, that is how they come, and that is how we have to take them. I look back on my life like a good day's work, it was done and I feel satisfied with it. I was happy and contented, I knew nothing better and made the best out of what life offered. And life is what we make it, always has been, always will be.”
here is a link to the Smithsonian article.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smiths...
That interest made me fascinated with Grandma Moses’ folk art for the longest. But I never delved into her history until I recently stumbled across a Smithsonian Magazine article about her because of a current exhibition of her works.
It quotes from Grandma's autobiography, Grandma Moses: My Life's History, original copyright 1948. And I was pleasantly surprised to find that book at my local library.
She painted better than she wrote, I think. But her words were just as simple, explaining her earliest memories, her heritage, how her people ended up in upstate New York and her somewhat circuitous life, many years in the South.
She lived from 1860 to 1961 and she remembered a lot and wrote it down. And she saw a lot, including the end of slavery, and a president after her art was recognized.
Most of the book describes her roots, her personal life and the routine days on the farm. But it was fascinating how crafty she was in an effort to help supplement her progressive husband's farm operations.
In her 70s, she started painting rural scenes and she ended up with exhibitions in galleries in big cities, and the rest is history. But in her book, she probably spent less than 20 pages on her iconic career as an artist.
A sample:
“I have written my life in small sketches, a little today, a little yesterday, as I thought of it, as I remembered all the things from childhood on through the years, good ones, and unpleasant ones, that is how they come, and that is how we have to take them. I look back on my life like a good day's work, it was done and I feel satisfied with it. I was happy and contented, I knew nothing better and made the best out of what life offered. And life is what we make it, always has been, always will be.”
here is a link to the Smithsonian article.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smiths...
February 24, 2026
Grandma Moses’ autobiography was delightful. She seems to have been an amazing n woman. We loved reading about her life. She experienced so many changes in her 101 years. Imagine living from before the Civil War to 1960.
June 27, 2018
Enjoyed reading this book which was in Grandma Moses own words written by her art agent. Such a contrast to the art and world we live in today. She was a strong and passionate woman who went through a great deal of heartache, hard work, and witnessed all of our country’s wars, inventions and turmoil.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews