A Fire in the Woods

Copied Grandma Moses, A Fire in the Woods, 1940 or earlier, oil on paperboard, 16 × 20 × 1 7⁄8 in. (40.6 × 50.8 × 4.8 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2024.37.6, © Grandma Moses Properties Co., New York

Artwork Details

Title
A Fire in the Woods
Artist
Date
1940 or earlier
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
16 × 20 × 1 7⁄8 in. (40.6 × 50.8 × 4.8 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 paperboard
Classifications
Subjects
  • Disaster — fire
  • Landscape — forest
Object Number
2024.37.6

Artwork Description

In this painting of a raging wildfire, angry colors consume and suffocate--effectively triggering internal alarm bells. Moses favored gentle palettes and uplifting scenes of harmonious balance between agricultural settlements and the natural world. Living her entire life near vast forests, however, meant she understood natural disasters as a fact of life.

Her fire paintings are uncommon in her oeuvre, but this one is especially unusual for lacking any sign of human civilization, usually a staple of Moses's imagery. The deep colors here echo the somber tones of chromolithographs common in the era.

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