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Anna Mary ‘Grandma Moses’ Robertson (1860 – 1961) 20th Century American Folk Artist







If there’s anything as American as “Mom and apple pie”, it’s the legacy of Grandma Moses. Her life and art made her an iconic figure of 20th Century Americana.

The following are a few of her memorable quotatons:

“I look out the window sometimes to seek the color of the shadows and the different greens in the trees, but when I get ready to paint I just close my eyes and imagine a scene.”
TIME magazine, Vol. 52 (1948)

“I’ll get an inspiration and start painting; then I’ll forget everything, everything except how things used to be and how to paint it so people will know how we used to live.”
From her obituary in The New York Times, 14 December 1961 issue.

“Painting’s not important. The important thing is keeping busy.”
New Leaves (1986) by Louise Matteoni

“I paint from the top down. From the sky, then the mountains, then the hills, then the houses, then the cattle, and then the people.”
Tampa Bay Magazine‎ (January/February 2008), p. 205

“A primitive artist is an amateur whose work sells.”
Grandma Moses, American Primitive : Forty Paintings (1947) by Otto Kallir

“If I hadn’t started painting, I would have raised chickens.”
Grandma Moses, American Primitive : Forty Paintings (1947) by Otto Kallir

Grandma Moses started her painting career at the age of 78.

She was a descendant of Francis Cooke (1583 – 1663). He was a co-signer of the Mayflower Compact.

A descendant of Mayflower Compact co-signer Stephen Hopkins (1581 – 1644), iconic American painter and illustrator Norman Rockwell and Anna enjoyed a friendship both as fellow artists and neighbors. They resided within proximity of one another across from the New York-Vermont border.

Related ancestral blog articles

Anna Mary ‘Grandma Moses’ Robertson
Birth September 7, 1860 in Greenwich, New York
Death December 13, 1961 in Hoosick Falls, New York

Ancestry.com citation/Lineages

7th cousin 6x removed KING-REED-COOKE-BARTLETT-SPRAGUE-TRIPP-OUTWATER-COLLINS
21st cousin 8x removed KING-REED-THOMPSON-COOKE-FITZWILLIAM-GREEN-LA ZOUCHE-PORHOET-ROHAN-LANDRY-BOURG-CYR-BRULE
23rd cousin 4x removed KING-REED-THOMPSON-COOKE-SAUNDERS-SPENCER-HARCOURT-HOLLAND-SIMMONS-COLLINS

Wiki

WikiTree

SOURCES

Francis Cooke Society

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Grandma Moses’ autobiography

Grandma Moses

* * *

Grandma Moses
Grandma Moses: An American Original
Grandma Moses: Painter of Rural America
The Year with Grandma Moses
Barefoot in the Grass: The Story of Grandma Moses
Designs on the Heart: The Homemade Art of Grandma Moses
The Grandma Moses Storybook For Boys and Girls

YouTube videos

The Patricians, A Genealogical Study – Ebook Editions US$5.95

Author at Harrod’s Deli – London

Steven Wood Collins (1952 – ) Antiquarian, Genealogist, Novelist 

By Steven Wood Collins

I spent most of my life unaware of my ancestral heritage. Sure, I knew of the personal history of my more immediate relatives; but beyond that, I never had any inkling as to my ancestral heritage. Then one day many years ago my sister said to me, “I sometimes wonder about our family background.” And so my quest to discover our genealogical roots commenced.

I started building my family tree with the very basic relationships, going back in time from my grandparents, one ancestor at a time. That initial effort proved to be the hardest part of the pursuit, mainly due to my lack of expertise as a novice genealogical researcher. As I gained familiarity with the databases and how to efficiently mine them, my progress gained ever-increasing momentum. Today, The Patricians! tree (Ancestry.com) contains nearly 120,000 individuals, stretching over 135 generations, 5,800 of which are my direct ancestors in a genealogical sense.

During this trek back in time, I encountered fascinating figures in both history and obscurity. This blog contains many stories about their genealogical relationship to me (and many of you). By far and away, as a student of history, the historically obscure individuals are of particular interest to me. I cite Baron “Blue Beard” Montmorency-Laval de Rais (1405 – 1440) as an example of a historically maligned personage whose real contribution to history, as both a playwright and hero of France, has yet to be properly recognized. Another example is Earl Edward de Vere (1550 – 1604), who’s yet to gain widespread recognition as the actual author of the body of literary work wrongly ascribed to William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616).

My life-long interest in international economics and finance continues unabated. I primarily demonstrate this professional involvement as a contributor to the Long Room, the members-only international finance professionals' forum hosted by the Financial Times of London.

I'm an avid recreational scuba diver who enjoys traveling to exotic dive sites. My love of the sea and marine life gives me an unbounded appreciation and support of “green” issues, especially those devoted to the conservation of endangered species and coral reefs.

He continually posts results of his personal genealogical research to his Goodreads Authors Blog. Entitled The Patricians - The Ancestral Heritage of Steven Wood Collins, the work represents thousand of hours of his research efforts and related commentary.

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