Grandma Moses American Primitive

Grandma Moses American Primitive was the first popular catalog of works by Grandma Moses by Otto Kallir, published in 1946.

Moses’ first solo exhibition had taken place in 1940 "What a Farmwife Painted", at the Galerie St. Etienne in New York. It was organized by Louis J. Caldor and Otto Kallir and since that time Kallir himself had become a firm admirer and promoter of the artist's work. He believed the choice of works in the 1940 exhibition "included many of her early attempts in which her great talent was scarcely recognizable."[1]

Kallir decided to make a catalog based on Grandma Moses' own words on the occasion of her 85th birthday in 1945. He chose to add "American Primitive" to the title and gave the work the subtitle "Forty paintings with comments by Grandma Moses - together with her life's history". He then wrote an essay that partially rejected the "primitive" label that he felt responsible for, writing "It is important, however, not to confuse “primitive” with “self-taught” artists."[1]

Louis Bromfield wrote the introduction, and Hildegard Bachert transcribed interviews with the artist to develop an ego-document that could be illustrated with a selection of paintings that reflected events and scenes from her life. The selection of paintings each accompanied a story from the artist's childhood in her own words. Two of the forty paintings were illustrated in color (Sugaring Off, and Old Oaken Bucket). Though the text and formatting were the same, the second edition switched the order of the paintings that accompanied the artist's stories in order to accompany two more color illustrations (The Old Checkered House in 1860, and Early Springtime on the Farm). These were the first published color illustrations of Grandma Moses paintings and they proved so popular that Kallir first registered her paintings with the Copyright Office in Washington and then arranged for large, higher quality prints that were published in 1948 to accommodate demand.[2]

The list of 42 paintings follows which were included in both the 1946 and 1947 editions. These paintings were referenced with the acronym "GMAP", in Kallir's 1973 catalogue raisonné. Since the plate numbers were different but the topic selections were the same, this list is ordered by painting date. Only four paintings were included from the 1940 exhibition. The 1973 catalogue raisonné numbers and Grandma Moses record book numbers are also included along with known owner information:

title 1940 exhibition nr. GMAP 1946 plate nr. GMAP 1947 plate nr. 1973 Kallir cat. nr. "RB" nr. latest date painted collection / owner
Shenandoah Valley, South Branch 20 4 8 51 1938 Louis J. Caldor
Bringing in the Maple Sugar 19 3 7 42 1939 Otto Kallir
Sugaring Off in Maple Orchard 6 10 56 1940 Sidney Janis
Cambridge in the Valley 25 5 9 11 1940 Louis J. Caldor
On the Road to Greenwich 27A 8 12 26 1940 Louis J. Caldor
Home of Hezekiah King, 1776 10 14 187 302 1942
Black Horses 9 13 181 1942 Otto Kallir
Over the Bridge to Grandma's House 13 17 130 1942
A Fire in the Woods 7 11 297 462 1943 Ala Story
The Trappers II 11 15 221 336 1943 Frank Jay Gould
Missouri 12 16 224 340 1943 Galerie St. Etienne
Checkered House 17 317 1943 IBM
McDonnell Farm 18 21 313 518 1943 The Phillips Collection
The Old Checkered House in 1860 3 387 592 1943 Ala Story
Over the River to Grandma's House 14 18 277 443 1943 Jack Kapp
Mt. Nebo in Winter 16 20 275 441 1943 Bennington Museum
Sugaring Off 1 1 276 442 1943 Galerie St. Etienne
Catching the Thanksgiving Turkey 15 19 260 353 1943
The Old Oaken Bucket 2 2 238 343 1943
Home for Thanksgiving 26 28 441 1036 1944
Old Red Mill 21 24 480 1944 Jane Elizabeth Gosden
Hoosick Falls in Winter 23 26 425 810 1944 The Phillips Collection
The Old Automobile 24 27 442 1036 1944
In the Park 19 22 343 600 1944 Galerie St. Etienne
In the Springtime 20 23 331 528 1944 Susan Vanderpoel Hun
Out for the Christmas Trees 25 444 1038 1944
In Harvest Time 22 25 379 583 1944
The Lookout, 1777, Vermont 31 32 508 1032 1945
Our Barn 39 39 541 1061 1945
Haying Time 28 29 485 1011 1945
May: Making Soap, Washing Sheep 32 33 509 1033 1945 Miss Porter's School
A Winter's Day, 1870 33 34 511 1035 1945 Jane Winton
Bondsville Fair 34 35 497 1023 1945
Going to Church 35 36 502 1027 1945
Wash Day 36 37 498 1024 1945 Rhode Island School of Design Museum
Whiteside Church 38 38 543 1063 1945 Smithsonian American Art Museum
Picnic 30 31 484 1010 1945
Early Springtime on the Farm 37 6 500 1026 1945
The Lonely Tramp or Traveler 40 40 483 1003 1945
The First Skating 29 30 486 1013 1945
Here Comes Aunt Judith 4 581 1098 1946
Grandma Moses Goes to the Big City 27 5 577 1091 1946 Smithsonian American Art Museum


References

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  1. ^ a b What a Farmwife Painted discussed by Otto Kallir in Grandma Moses American Primitive, 1947
  2. ^ Kallir 1973, page 103