Grandma Moses

About this episode

This episode explores the life and artistic journey of Grandma Moses, who became an international art sensation in her later years.

Grandma Moses spent most of her life living on family farms in upstate New York, raising a large family and running a household. She was known in her neighborhood for her award-winning preserves and pickles... not her embroidered artwork! It wasn’t until her late seventies, when arthritis made needlework too painful, that she rediscovered her childhood love of painting and created the style that would make her famous. Her nostalgic scenes of rural life caught the eye of collectors, then museums, then the world, turning her into an international art sensation in her eighties and nineties. Grandma Moses kept painting until just before her death at 101, leaving behind a body of work that reshaped how Americans think about creativity, aging, and the history of our country. Registration is now open for our Field Trip to the Loire Valley in France (August 23-31, 2026) and our Field Trip to Italy (October 7-14.) Visit Like Minds Travel for information and to register! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People in this episode

Host: The History Chicks

Topics covered

• art
• aging
• creativity
• American history
• women's history

Keywords

• Grandma Moses
• painting
• art
• rural life
• creativity
• aging
• American art

Sponsors

Like Minds Travel

Mentioned in this episode

Places: upstate New York

More episodes of The History Chicks : A Women's History Podcast

• Bertha Palmer · June 12, 2026 · 2h 25m
• Audrey Hepburn, Mega Episode · May 28, 2026 · 2h 45m
• A little audio note from us · May 25, 2026 · 4 min
• Queen Anne · May 14, 2026 · 2h 5m
• Laura Ingalls Wilder: The Do-over, Part Three · April 22, 2026 · 1h 37m
• Laura Ingalls Wilder: The Do-over, Part Two · April 10, 2026 · 1h 36m