Hoosick Falls in Winter
Dateca. 1944
Artist
Anna Mary Robertson Moses
1860-1961
MediumOil on pressed fiberboard panel
DimensionsUnframed: 18 1/16 x 21 3/4in. (45.9 x 55.2cm) and Framed: 25 1/4 x 30 5/8in.
Credit LineGift of Mr. & Mrs. George Seaton
Object number1968.101.1
DescriptionWinter townscape with the horizon line about 2/3 high on the picture plane. Dark gray winter sky, blue-to-gray mountains in background. A river makes loop through town, a train crosses one of two bridges over it. There are many buildings, and there is much activity: children skating on frozen river, couples walking and visiting, a dog frolicking in foreground. Several horse-drawn sleighs are visible, but no activity relating specifically to Christmas observed. Flatly painted with heavy opaque coverage and impasto representing both build-up of snow on trees and rooftops and leafiness of evergreens. Overall impact of bustling activity is excellently conveyed with no attention paid to proportion or modeling. Buildings, trees, and figures provide bright color spots in white/gray tonality.Label TextGrandma Moses, arguably the best-known American folk artist, is celebrated for her numerous paintings recalling family and small-town life in Virginia and in New York State. Moses's so-called "memory paintings" had a great effect on other elderly painters who, inspired by her example, chose paint rather than words to record their memories of events in their lives that ranged from the ordinary to the remarkable.Inscription(s)Signed in the lower right corner, "Moses."ProvenancePossibly Mrs. Ala Story, New York, NY: probably James Vigeveno Gallery, Los Angeles, CA; gift of Mr. and Mrs. George Seaton, Los Angeles, CA.Painting was a gift to Seatons from Paulette Goddard, probably in 1945; Ms. Goddard had purchased the same from a California art dealer named Vigeveno at an unknown date.
1820-1830
