Born on this day in upstate New York, Anna Mary Robertson Moses (1860-1961), better known as "Grandma Moses," was a self-taught painter who didn’t begin her artistic journey until her 70s. A farmer’s wife and devoted mother of ten children, she transformed retirement into a period of creative bloom.

“If I didn’t start painting, I would have raised chickens,” she quipped with charm.

Her no-nonsense view of life and eye for details led her to immortalize rural America in over 2,000 paintings. Her work was discovered in a drugstore by collector Louis Caldor. She soon captivated the world with her colorful, nostalgic works.

“The paintings are daydreams, as it were,” she explained. “I close my eyes and imagine a scene.”

By age 80, she was a national treasure. In 1955, she was commissioned to paint President Eisenhower’s farm. Her legacy endures through folk art that glows with color, memory, and joy.

“Memory is a painter,” she said. “Paintin’ is not important. The important thing is keepin’ busy.”

Her work, like her life, reminds us to embrace every season and celebrate each good day’s work.