Description
Vintage Collection of Photos & Greeting Card - Artist, Grandma Moses - Likely from the personal collection of Helen C. Beers, Artist - Good+ Helen C. Beers (American Artist, 1881-1980) & Grandma Moses were friends. They often painted together & Grandma Moses even gifted a painting to Mrs. Beers & her husband, Dr. Roland F. Beers. The painting titled, "Poesenkill" was created in 1952 as a gift for Dr. & Mrs. Roland Beers by Grandma Moses. This collection of black & white photographs, many with descriptions written on the back, are likely from the personal collection of Helen Beers. There are 3 photos that are 4.25" tall by 3.25" wide. 2 of them are dated from 1953. The remaining photo is from 1954. There are 2 photographs, on heavier paper stock, that do not have writing on them & have been cut as though they were part of a collage. Grandma Moses is the subject of all 5 photos in this collection. Also included is a Hallmark greeting card with the image of painting, "The Battle of Bennington". There is no writing on it. We only include it because it accompanied the photos. The greeting card is 7" wide by 4" tall & blank inside. The card has some toning from age & handling. The photographs are all in very good condition. We hope you find them as interesting as we do. About the Artist, Grandma Moses, from WIKIPEDIA: "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 & is a prominent example of a newly successful art career at an advanced age. Her works have been shown & sold worldwide, including in museums, & have been merchandised such as on greeting cards. Sugaring Off was sold for US$1.2 million in 2006. "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 & Ives, & they supplied her with drawing materials. Moses & her husband began their married life in Virginia, where they worked on farms. in 1905, they returned to the Northeastern United States & settled in Eagle Bridge, New York. They had ten children, five of whom survived infancy. She embroidered pictures with yarn, until disabled by arthritis. "By the age of 76, Moses had developed arthritis, which made embroidery painful. Her sister Celestia suggested that painting would be easier for her, & this idea spurred Moses's painting career in her late 70s. Grandma Moses also told reporters that she turned to painting in order to create the postman's Christmas gift, seeing as it "was easier to make [a painting] than to bake a cake over a hot stove". Being practical, painted works would last longer than her embroidered compositions made of worsted wool, which risked being eaten by moths. Judith Stein noted that "her sense of accomplishment in her painting was rooted in her ability to make 'something from nothing'". When her right hand began to hurt, she switched to her left hand. "She was a
