Sugaring Off 1955

Grandma Moses made this painting of ‘Sugaring Off’ with oil on board, at a time when she was becoming known for her memory paintings of rural life. There's a real process feel to this work, in the way the paint is applied in these small, descriptive marks. It feels almost like she is building up the scene, one detail at a time, and embracing a naive or primitive style. Look at the way she builds up the snow, it’s not about perfect perspective. Instead, there’s this layering of the white paint with small brushstrokes that give the scene texture, a kind of tactile quality. The little figures, with their pops of color, scattered across the landscape like confetti, draw you into the scene, and remind me a bit of Pieter Bruegel the Elder. The flat perspective and descriptive details are what give her paintings their charm. Her art is a testament to the idea that artmaking is about embracing the act of seeing.