Grandma Moses

by Otto Kallir

Anecdotes on the personal life of the American primitive painter highlight a comprehensive catalogue of her works

Genres: Art, Nonfiction

159 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1973

Reviews

[Alison McDonough · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVE Gma Moses!!!!

[Billy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an old friend. My father loved Grandma Moses; he had this book in his library. I always enjoyed looking through it on visits to the family home. When I saw it recently at the Briarcliff Manor Library, I decided to read it again. No one captures the landscape better than Grandma Moses. She makes the viewer intimately acquainted with the stark, beautiful country on the New York-Vermont border east of Bennington. There is perfection in these images. When the trees are bending in the wind in some of the works, you feel it on you as you sense the cold of winter in the snowscapes. Kallir quotes Jean Cassou, director of the Musee National d'Arte Moderne in Paris, "She would have us know that there is still a bit of paradise left on earth."

[Chris Gager · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found this at the local transfer station yesterday. It appeared that they'd tossed all the books to clean the shelves off. Hate it when they do that! But ... I understand why they do it. They do pile up, though I do my part to bring home the promising ones. Yesterday's included "A Visit From the Goon Squad" and something by Julian Barnes. Anyway ... I browsed through this reading a little and looking a lot. My usual technique with art books. I think for the first time I noticed the resemblance to the Breughel stuff from the middle ages.

[jeffrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I inherited this book from my mother, intending to give it a quick perusal before donating it to the local library. However, I found it to be an interesting and well-written work, definitely worth keeping in my library. It really gave me a good appreciation of the artist's life and work.

[lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Whether the picture was of a washday or a Sunday, it was her washday, her Sunday."

Another delightful foray into my project to actually read all of my coffee table books! I've been interested in Grandma Moses since I read a middle grade mystery as a child that centered around the forgery of one of her paintings (which I now want to reread, if only I could remember the title!). We never did much American art as part of my art history degree, so it was a true joy and genuinely inspiring to dig into more of her life and work.

Unfortunately, as is typical in a book about a woman written by a man, Kallir found plenty of opportunities to insert himself into his narrative of Grandma Moses's life, like I could actually care about him and his relationship with her.

Still, though, this was a perfect overview of one of American art's most unassuming artists and such a beautiful addition to my collection.

[Deb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an engrossing read i have just read it a second time! A fascinating insight to life in the US from the 1860s to the 1960s as seen through the recall of Grandma Moses. The acceptance of loss and the gratitude for the simple things in life is humbling. The thrifty make and make do culture also struck a chord. Both things today's society could benefit a little from !

[Martha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting, well done. Nice plates of many of her paintings.