What a Farmwife Painted, 1940
What a Farmwife Painted was the first solo exhibition of works by Grandma Moses at the Galerie St. Etienne in October 1940.
Moses’ first exhibition had taken place the previous year with three paintings in the exhibition "Contemporary Unknown American Painters", at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1939.[1] The interest generated there led to these three paintings The First Automobile, Home, and In the Maple Sugar Days being included in her first solo exhibition "What a Farmwife Painted" at the Galerie St. Etienne. It was organized by Louis J. Caldor and Otto Kallir and was a success, although Kallir felt the exhibition "included many of her early attempts in which her great talent was scarcely recognizable."[2]
The list of 35 paintings included were referenced with numbers 1-34, taken from an old exhibition handout, in his 1976 catalogue raisonné by Otto Kallir:
| title | 1940 exhibition nr. | 1973 Kallir nr. | latest date painted | collection / owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Down in the Glen | 1 | 23 | 1940 | Louis J. Caldor |
| Where the Muddy Missouri Rolls | 2 | 47 | 1940 | Louis J. Caldor |
| A Winter Sleigh Ride | 3 | 74 | 1940 | Louis J. Caldor |
| Farm Along the River | 4 | 21 | 1940 | Louis J. Caldor |
| Village in Winter | 5 | 71 | 1940 | Louis J. Caldor |
| The Covered Wagon | 6 | 17 | 1940 | Louis J. Caldor |
| Back Yard at Home | 7 | 7 | 1940 | Louis J. Caldor |
| Starry Eyes (painted on tin) | 8 | 53 | 1940 | |
| All Dressed Up for Sunday | 9 | 3 | 1940 | Louis J. Caldor |
| The Guardian Angel | 10 | 29 | 1940 | Louis J. Caldor |
| Hills of New England | 11 | 48 | 1940 | Mrs. Ian McDonald |
| Bridge | 12 | 10 | 1940 | Louis J. Caldor |
| The Burning of Troy | 13 | 62 | 1939 | Louis J. Caldor |
| Home from the Honeymoon | 14 | 35 | 1940 | Louis J. Caldor |
| Bringing in the Hay | 15 | 30 | 1940 | Louis J. Caldor |
| The Old House at the Bend in the Road | 16 | 40 | 1940 | Louis J. Caldor; Bennington Museum (1995.13)[3] |
| A Fire in the Woods | 17 | 22 | 1940 | Louis J. Caldor |
| Sugar House among the Trees | 18 | 55 | 1940 | Harold L. Downey |
| Bringing in the Maple Sugar | 19 | 42 | 1939 | Otto Kallir |
| Shenandoah Valley, South Branch | 20 | 51 | 1938 | Louis J. Caldor |
| Home | 21 | 31 | 1939 | Louis J. Caldor |
| In the Maple Sugar Days | 22 | 43 | 1939 | Louis J. Caldor; Mr. & Mrs. Henry Matalene Jr. |
| The First Automobile | 23 | 6 | 1939 | Louis J. Caldor |
| Shenandoah Valley (1861 News of the Battle) | 24 | 52 | 1938 | Louis J. Caldor |
| Cambridge in the Valley | 25 | 11 | 1940 | Louis J. Caldor |
| Turkey in the Straw | 26 | 63 | 1940 | Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Kelly Vodrey |
| On the Road to Greenwich (two sided painting) | 27A | 26 | 1940 | Louis J. Caldor |
| The Waterfalls (other side of two sided painting) | 27B | 72 | 1940 | Louis J. Caldor |
| Home for Thanksgiving | 28 | 34 | 1940 | Louis J. Caldor |
| The Old Churchyard on Sunday Morning | 29 | 15 | 1940 | Louis J. Caldor |
| Apple Pickers | 30 | 5 | 1940 | Louis J. Caldor |
| At the Old Well | 31 | 73 | 1940 | Louis J. Caldor |
| The Village by the Brookside | 32 | 70 | 1940 | Louis J. Caldor |
| September Hills | 33 | 50 | 1940 | |
| Mt. Nebo on the Hill (embroidery) | 34 | 34W | 1940 | Louis J. Caldor |
References
[edit]- ^ Master Checklist for "Contemporary Unknown American Painters", MOMA, 1939
- ^ What a Farmwife Painted discussed by Otto Kallir in Grandma Moses American Primitive, 1947
- ^ The Old House at the Bend in the Road on the Bennington Museum website
- Otto Kallir, Grandma Moses, Complete edition, New York, Harry N. Abrams, 1973