Live Auction 2238819th Century American & Western Art
ANNA MARY ROBERTSON 'GRANDMA' MOSES (1860-1961)
Lot 301

ANNA MARY ROBERTSON 'GRANDMA' MOSES (1860-1961)

The Old Checkered House in 1860

Closed18 January 2024

Price Realised

USD 44,100

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ANNA MARY ROBERTSON 'GRANDMA' MOSES (1860-1961)
The Old Checkered House in 1860
signed ‘Moses.’ (lower left)—dated ‘1942/July 4.’, numbered ‘216.’ and inscribed ‘Checkard [sic] House in 1860’ (on a label affixed to the reverse)
oil on masonite
16 x 20 in. (40.6 x 50.8 cm.)
Painted in 1942.

James Vigeveno Galleries, Los Angeles, California.
Birdie Lyman, California, acquired from the above, 1949.
Estate of the above, 1990.
Dr. Leon and Arlene Harris, Beverly Hills, California.
Estate of the above.
Abell Auctions, Los Angeles, California, 23 May 2021, lot 110, sold by the above.
Acquired by the present owner from the above.

Specialist note

A repeated image by Moses, the Checkered House was a landmark near Cambridge, New York that the artist remembered from her youth. She recalled “The Checkered House is old…It was the Headquarters of General Baum in the revolution war, and afterwards he used it as a hospital, then it was a stopping place for the stage, where they changed horses every two miles, oh we traveled fast those days.” (O. Kallir, Grandma Moses, New York, 1973, p. 68)

In this charming depiction she paints a bustling scene with several rushing horse-drawn carriages. When asked how she was able to create a new composition for each depiction of the Checkered House, Moses said that she visualized the painting as if she was about to paint it as framed through her window.