The Rainbow 1961

Grandma Moses made this painting, The Rainbow, with what looks like oil on canvas, and it's a real trip. You can almost feel the sun on your face just looking at it! I imagine her outside, squinting a little to see the rainbow, that hazy arc of color, and the way the greens of the field just vibrate. What do you think Grandma Moses was thinking as she laid down those brushstrokes? Was she remembering a place from her past, some kind of idealized memory? It feels very personal, like she just had to get this picture out of her head and onto the canvas. There is something so genuine about the way she handled the paint, a very folksy take on landscape. It’s not about being technically perfect; it's about capturing a feeling. You can see influences from other American painters in the past, but she's doing her own thing, too. That's what painting is all about: a conversation across generations, taking what you’ve learned and making something new, something all your own.