The Old Checkered House in 1860

Details

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.

Provenance

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.

Further details

This work has been assigned Kallir catalogue raisonné no. 155C.
The copyright for this painting is reserved to Grandma Moses Properties, Co., Inc., New York.

Conditions of sale

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Lot Essay

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.

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