Frances and Mary Virginia Greer papers relating to Grandma Moses
name: label: Creator
content: Greer, Frances, d. 1978
label: Creator
content: Greer, Mary Virginia, b. 1889
label: Names
content: Moses, Dorothy
label: Names
content: Moses, Grandma, 1860-1961
label: Names
content: Moses, Molly, d. ca. 1976
topic: label: Topic
content: Women artists
label: Topic
content: Women painters
label: Topic
content: Folk artists
label: Topic
content: Self-taught artists
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Donated 1988 by Miss Frances G. Brown, the niece of the Greers.
creator: label: Creator
content: Greer, Frances, d. 1978
label: Creator
content: Greer, Mary Virginia, b. 1889
setName: label: See more items in
content: Frances and Mary Virginia Greer papers relating to Grandma Moses
abstract: label: Summary
content: The scattered papers of Frances and Mary Greer relating to folk artist Grandma Moses (Anna Mary Robertson Moses) measure 0.2 linear feet and date from circa 1890 to 1981. Found are letters from Grandma Moses and members of the Moses family, including daughters-in-law Dorothy and Molly, to Frances and Mary Greer, and scattered notes, photographs of the Moses family and others, and printed material.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Frances Greer (1895-1975) and Mary Greer (1889-1993) were sisters who lived near Staunton, Virginia. They were acquainted with the Moses family when Anna Mary Robertson Moses (1860-1961) and her family settled in Staunton in 1887.  When the Moses family moved back to New York in 1905, Grandma Moses and daughters-in-law Mary and Dorothy corresponded with the Greers. 

Grandma Moses  was a self-taught, "modern primitive" painter, who did not start painting until she was seventy-seven years old when arthritis forced her to give up yarn needlework. She initially sold her work at county fairs but became known across the country when Hallmark purchased the rights to reproduce her paintings on greeting cards. At the time of her death at 101, she had painted more than fifteen hundred images.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 0.2 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: circa 1890-1981
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.greefran
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: Due to the small size of this collection the papers are arranged as one series.
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The papers received a preliminary level of arrangement upon receipt and was microfilmed on reel 4131. The collection was processed, and a finding aid prepared by Jayna Josefson in 2022 with support from the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative.
altformavail: label: Existence and Location of Copies
content: The collection is available on 35mm microfilm reel 4131 at Archives of American Art offices. Researchers should note that the arrangement of the material described in the container inventory does not reflect the arrangement of the collection on microfilm
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The scattered papers of Frances and Mary Greer relating to folk artist Grandma Moses (Anna Mary Robertson Moses) measure 0.2 linear feet and date from circa 1890 to 1981. Found are letters from Grandma Moses and members of the Moses family, including daughters-in-law Dorothy and Molly, to Frances and Mary Greer, and scattered notes, photographs of the Moses family and others, and printed material.