Joy Ride 1953

Grandma Moses made this painting, Joy Ride, sometime during her long career, using oil paint probably applied with fairly small brushes. The way the snow covers everything, it almost looks like a thick impasto of white paint. The darks are all thin, and that contrast gives the painting a slightly naive, charming look. The painting is mostly descriptive, but there’s a wonderful looseness in the way Moses applies the paint. Look at the figures around the house, each dab of paint describes a different part of the figure, face, hat, arms - amazing. I’m reminded of Henri Rousseau, another painter who took up painting later in life. Both artists create worlds that are both familiar and dreamlike. It makes me think about how art can be this ongoing conversation between people across time. It’s all up for grabs, interpretation is everything.