Object Record
Images
Metadata
Object |
Painting |
Title |
Catchin' the Turkey |
Artist/Creator |
Moses, Anna Mary Robertson (Grandma) |
Date |
1955 |
Description |
Painting by Grandma Moses "Catchin' the Turkey". Oil on masonite board. Label on back, written by Winona Fisher with number, title and date (March 10, 1955). Autumn scene, trees are bright orange and yellow. White house in mid ground on left and grey barn on right. Boy in red chasing turkey in left foreground, two men in middle foreground. Several other turkeys and children around barnyard in fore and mid ground. Fields and hills in background. |
Width (inches) |
16.000 |
Height (inches) |
12.000 |
Information |
Moses is frequently associated with her nostalgic depictions of American holiday traditions, such as this image depicting activities associated with Thanksgiving. The artist surely had strong memories of the ritual of catching a turkey for her family’s Thanksgiving meal, as she painted this theme more than a dozen times over the course of her career. However, as with all her work, what seems like a vividly recalled personal memory is, in fact, a carefully constructed image, drawing on popular imagery as well as personal association. The running boy at the far left in for example, was traced from a figure in John Falter’s "Saturday Evening Post" cover painting "Evening Picnic," in which the boy was actually frolicking happily with other children. |
Related People |
Moses, Anna Mary Robertson (Grandma) |
Credit line |
Museum Purchase |
Copyright owner |
Copyright © Grandma Moses Properties, New York |
Catalog Number |
2007.41 |