Bringing in the Maple Sugar

Copied Grandma Moses, Bringing in the Maple Sugar, 1940 or earlier, oil on high-density fiberboard, 16 1⁄4 × 24 1⁄2 × 3 1⁄8 in. (41.3 × 62.2 × 7.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2024.37.3, © Grandma Moses Properties Co., New York

Artwork Details

Title
Bringing in the Maple Sugar
Artist
Date
1940 or earlier
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
16 1⁄4 × 24 1⁄2 × 3 1⁄8 in. (41.3 × 62.2 × 7.9 cm)
Copyright
© Grandma Moses Properties Co., New York
Credit Line
Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on high-density fiberboard
Classifications
Subjects
  • Architecture Exterior — domestic — house
  • Landscape — tree — maple tree
  • Landscape — weather — snow
  • Landscape — season — winter
  • Occupation — domestic — cooking
  • Figure group
Object Number
2024.37.3

Artwork Description

Tapping maple trees for their flowing sap in early spring is a North American tradition closely associated with the New England region. Moses had a great fondness for this wild harvest, in which some of her favorite things came together: shared labor, being outdoors, and seasonal treats. "That was a pleasure for us children to run to the woods to gather sap and run back with it," she recalled. "We had lots of fun keeping the fires burning. We all had all the syrup we wanted to eat on buckwheat cakes in the morning and syrup on hot biscuits for supper with butter."

Moses became known for such "Yankee" themes, and her sugaring paintings were among her most beloved. This version was one of the artist's first renderings of the subject.

 Exhibition Label for Grandma Moses: A Good Day's Work October 24, 2025 -- July 12, 2026