Grandma Moses, American 1860-1961 - Kenyon Old House; oil on canvas, signed 'Moses', 20.5 x 25.76 cm (unframed) Provenance: the artist; Sidney Janis c.1940; private collection and thence by descent; Sotheby's, Arcade Sale, 15th March 1986, sale...

Grandma Moses, American 1860-1961 - Kenyon Old House; oil on canvas, signed 'Moses', 20.5 x 25.76 cm (unframed) Provenance: the artist; Sidney Janis c.1940; private collection and thence by descent; Sotheby's, Arcade Sale, 15th March 1986, sale no.157, lot 267; The Geoffrey and Fay Elliott Collection, purchased from the above and thence by descent Images: Copyright Grandma Moses Properties Co., New York Note: A self-taught painter, Grandma Moses is one of America's most beloved folk artists. This work was originally handled by legendary dealer, Sidney Janis, whose gallery was an early exhibitor of the Abstract Expressionists, as well as Modern European masters. Janis included her work in the show ‘Contemporary Unknown American Painters’ at the Museum of Modern Art in 1939, which brought her work to national attention. The bucolic landscapes of Grandma Moses were inspired by the landscape and villages of rural East Coast America, idealised through her own imagination - “What’s the use of painting a picture if it isn’t something nice?” she asked. After spending most of her life working in rural New York and Virginia on farms, she started painting New England landscapes only at the age of 77.
Work has been relined. The back of the canvas has not been examined due to protective board. Craquelure throughout and surface dirt, commensurate with age. Historic tacking holes in canvas along the tacking edge from the original stretching. 1cm tear in canvas on bottom right corner. Paint loss of top layer along bottom edge, and cleaner paint around edges, both perhaps from original smaller sized stretching.