"Grandma Moses" by Herself (1948)

I must confess to having been entirely ignorant on the subject of Grandma Moses until I found this old treasure in the “stacks” at the Mooresville Town Library. I had heard the name , but for some reason I have always associated it with being a slave narrative, of which I have read several. So, I just never got around to it until last week.

Imagine my surprise to find out that Grandma Moses was an elderly white woman who began to paint landscapes at the age of 80! Born in New York State in 1860, she recalls the Civil War, and her family’s move to Virginia after the war had ended. Her father worked at several different trades, including farming, and the author recalls all the hardships, and rewards, of that bygone era.

Candid in every respect, the manuscript was actually pieced together from several different interviews and magazine articles written by the author over the course of several decades. There is nothing written here which was not proof read by Grandma Moses, and her family, before its release.

What you get is an unpretentious look at a woman who worked hard for many years, raising 5 of the 10 children born to her. The other 5 died. The book serves as a window into a time when you didn’t name your kid right away; you first waited to see if it lived. With her nimble mind, and capable husband, the two forged out a living in Chicago, Upstate New York and even Virginia, which was her first love. Most of her paintings are evocations of life in her beloved Shenandoah Valley.

A very quick read, with full color illustrations of some her best known paintings, this book will introduce you to a unique American woman. That she was unafraid to completely change the course of her life at such a late age, and have such great impact upon the art scene; so far removed from the life she had lived; should serve as an inspiration to us all that it is possible to live your dream. You have only to discover what that dream is…

"Surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown" by John Trumball (Preliminary)

This is John Trumball's 1797 oil painting of General Cornwallis' surrender to George Washington at Yorktown, Virginia on October 19th, 1781. It is not the final version, which hangs in the Rotunda of the Capitol in Washington. This preliminary version hangs in the Yale University Art Gallery. The final work was completed sometime before 1824, which means that John Trumball, mostly remembered as a potrait artist, spent considerable time on the final version. He spent several years traveling around Europe, and America, sketching the features of anyone still alive from the events of 1781.

General Cornwallis is noticeably absent from the painting, as he was in real life. The General claimed to have a cold that day, and so could not attend the ceremony. Other, unflattering, theories abound. His second in command, one General O'Hara, is seen, on foot, offering his sword to General Washington's second, General Lincoln, who is shown, mounted at the center of the painting.

John Trumball was not present at the surrender, although he did serve in the Continental Army as an officer early in the war. He was also an aide-de-camp to General Washington for a short time. He resigned his position over a trivial matter in 1780, and went to study in London, where he was immediately arrested in reprisal for the hanging of British spy Major Andre.

Therefore, we know that Trumbull was not present at Yorktown in 1781, and this explains some of the liberties he took in the composition of the painting. For instance, Trumball originally had Cornwallis present at the surrender, on horseback, with General O'Hara standing to his side. When the first sketch of the painting was exhibited, it became apparent that Trumball was totally unfamiliar with the events of the day he was attempting to immortalize. At that point he began his long quest to get the picture right.

From 1787 through 1789, Trumball traveled to Europe to sketch the senior officers who had been present that day at Yorktown. Upon his return to America, in 1789, he did the same thing with all of the surviving members of the Continental Army who had also been present that day. In 1790 he went to New York, which was then the nation's capital, in order to paint George Washington into the picture. By 1791 he was actually visiting Yorktown in order to sketch the scene correctly.

In spite of all of his preparatory work, the painting is still grossly inaccurate in many respects. There are officers present in the painting, such as Admiral Compte de Grasse, in the line of French Officers, even though he was not in America at the time. Even the uniforms shown are incorrect for the era, they are actually later versions of the respective uniforms from the 1790's.

No matter, the painting still stands as a great vision of the events of that long ago day. And, in the final analysis, is it really that important who was standing where? The real majesty of this painting is in the truth of General Cornwallis' surrender, rather than how may buttons are on the sleeves of General O'Hara's coat, or how may stripes are on the flag.

Although Trumball was a 1773 graduate of Harvard, in 1831 he donated his personal collection to Yale University, where this preliminary painting of "Cornwallis at Yorktown" resides today.

Thomas Cole - "The Course of Empire"

Thomas Cole is one of my favorite American landscape artists. He was born in England in 1801, arriving in America at age 18. He is most famous as one of the Hudson Valley landscape artists of the early 19th Century. His epic 4 painting work, "Journey of Life", done in duplicate, still stands as one of the best series of paintings on the subject of man's mortality.

Earlier in his remarkable, though short lived career; he passed away in 1848 at the age of 47; he was commissioned to create a series of 5 oil paintings that would depict the course of an Empire. The man who commissioned the work was Luman Reed, a successful merchant and a patron of some of America's earliest artists.

When you look at these paintings it is important to remember the time in which they were done. The early part of the 19th century was witness to the rise of democracy and self rule on a scale that had never been achieved. It was a time of intense optimism. To my eye, Mr. Cole was giving us a warning as to where our path would inevitably lead us; back to the beginning. A quick look at the news of the day suggests that he may have been on to something...

In this first painting of the series, "The Savage State", Cole depicts a wilderness environment. A buckskin clad hunter and Native Americans in canoes are depicted as living off the land. There is a dark quality to the painting, almost as if we are at the beginning of something greater.


In this second painting, titled "The Pastoral State", things are more ordered in appearance and you can sense the coming of something better. An old man drawing in the dirt with a stick, perhaps planning a building, and children playing and dancing all indicate an ordered way of life. Peace abounds.


The third painting, "The Consummation of Empire", is filled with the light of the noonday sun. Man is at his acme, seen as Rome, with all of it's splendor. Abundance, along with decadence, have replaced the "Pastoral State." The whole depiction is one of man as "King" over all that he sees.


In this fourth painting, "Destruction", the city is under siege and in flames. The bridge is almost at it's breaking point and the statue with no head seems to be urging the throngs forward. The only questions here are, where he is leading them, and why do they obey?


In the final painting, "Desolation", the sun has set, and the city-state is in ruins. All of the structures are being reclaimed by nature, and there are no people to be seen. All the "kings" are gone, along with all of their perceived accomplishments. The moon is rising, indicating that night, or darkness, has begun to settle on the land. This is the culmination of all of man's efforts to rule supreme.