Christmas

Grandma Moses, Christmas, 1958, oil and tempera on pressed wood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Charles Nelson Brower in memory of Charles H. and Elizabeth N. Brower, 2015.49, © Grandma Moses Properties
Copied Grandma Moses, Christmas, 1958, oil and tempera on pressed wood, 16 1⁄8 × 20 1⁄8 in. (41 × 51.1 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Charles Nelson Brower in memory of Charles H. and Elizabeth N. Brower, 2015.49, © Grandma Moses Properties

Artwork Details

Title
Christmas
Artist
Date
1958
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
16 1⁄8 × 20 1⁄8 in. (41 × 51.1 cm)
Copyright
© Grandma Moses Properties
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Nelson Brower in memory of Charles H. and Elizabeth N. Brower
Mediums Description
oil and tempera on pressed wood
Classifications
Subjects
  • Landscape — weather — snow
  • Figure group
  • Landscape — town
  • Ceremony — holiday — Christmas
  • Architecture — vehicle — sleigh
  • Architecture Exterior — domestic — house
Object Number
2015.49
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2015.49

Artwork Description

Grandma Moses painted many winter scenes of farm life in which adults and children happily do their chores and play in the snow. She painted only cheerful images that were based on her memories of growing up on a farm and of being a farmwife herself. In this painting the people talking and laughing together evoke a nostalgic ideal of community life, which the artist emphasized through small stylized buildings and bright colors. The buildings and looping fences create a two-dimensional pattern on the pure white snow that underscores the picturesque, storybook scene.