Many people credit Grandma Moses with kick-starting interest in folk art.
In the 1930s, at age 70, Anna Mary Robertson Moses began painting scenes she remembered from her childhood in upstate New York. Her work drew the attention of a New York art collector, and she went on to more than two decades of popular acclaim before dying in 1961 at age 101.
Whether she is solely responsible for launching the folk art movement or not, Grandma Moses did influence other artists. Carol Endres is one of them.
"I saw my first Grandma Moses painting 14 years ago, and fell in love with her style," says Endres. And so she started doing research, buying all the prints she could, visiting folk art museums.
Then she began doing her own paintings, giving this medium her own personal style and twist.
Today, Endres has taken her own place as one of the country's distinguished "American Primitive" artists.
"She is very well-known in the folk art world, although she is probably more widely known in the East," says Marcia Banks, marketing director for Gardner Village in West Jordan.
Endres will be visiting Country Furniture & Gifts at the Village on Saturday, March 17, to talk about and sign her art, which is available as prints but also on a wide variety of household goods — everything from dishes to linens to floor mats and fabrics.
Her art is very popular at the store, says buyer Maggie Drake. "Her colors are so bright, so fun and cheery. People usually smile when they look at it."
And that's partly what it's all about, said Endres, in a telephone interview from her home in Kinderhook, N.Y. That's one reason why folk art is so popular, why it crosses all intellectual and cultural levels. "There's something about the simplicity that reaches people on many different levels. It's understandable, it gives you a warm feeling."
She has seen how her art reaches people. One woman, for example, noted that she had got one of Endres' plates just after the woman's father died and told Endres that it helped her through that rough time. "What she saw in it was not exactly what I saw in it. But it shows how the impact can be different for each person."
Endres also likes to think her artwork inspires, uplifts. "I'm a Christian, and I approach art from a spiritual level."
That's one reason that angels have become one of her signature designs. But, she says, her angels are usually bringing some kind of message. "There's a lot of new-agey angel stuff out there that's pretty far out. I try to put angels in their proper place. I try to typify what angels are — not something to be worshipped but the messenger that can bring hope or peace. And people seem to respond to that."
You could say that along with Grandma Moses, angels got Endres started on this pathway. "I've been drawing angels all my life. I have pictures of angels I drew in the first grade. And that was when I knew I would be an artist."
But her work is not limited to angels. Sheep are also a frequent motif. As are cats and roosters, snowmen and beehives, Noah's Ark and country barns. And people.
"People relating with people. The idea of love one another." Those are important images for her, she says. And over all, the idea of peace in the country. That's what so many people are looking for in today's world.
And that's why folk art is so popular these days and why you see it on so many different items. "People want a coordinated look, and now they can do that with mixed elements," says Endres. But mostly, they are looking for the feelings it engenders, the bright touch it adds to their lives.
"It's perfect for us because of the history here," says Banks.
Country Furniture & Gifts, which is housed in part of the original mill built on the site by Archibald Gardner in the 1877, opened its Folk Art Gallery in 1999 and has done a lot to promote contemporary work done by such artists as Endres, Warren Kimble, David, Charles Wysocki and others. "It's probably the largest collection of folk art anywhere in the state."
There is a difference in true folk art and "country art," which is also very popular these days, notes Endres. "Folk art generally depicts scenes and objects of a specific era, from around 1700 to 1840. The dress, the buildings should all be true to that. It's very homogenous."
Often, it is the work of untrained or self-trained artists, which accounts for the "primitive" label sometimes used.
Endres' commitment to authenticity is evident in her work. But she also appreciates the creativity found in the daily lives of pioneers, she says. And she incorporates that inventive spirit into her work by making use of materials "at hand" — which could include anything from wood, canvas, paper, photography and embroidery and fabric.
"I love fabric," she says. She does a lot of fabric designs, largely for quilting fabrics, but she also collects bits and pieces of antique fabric. "Antique fabrics and out-of-print books on folk art or the subjects I paint. Every time we visit a different area, that's what I look for."
So popular is Endres' work that handling it has become a family affair. Her husband, Bill Lewin, and son and daughter-in-law are all involved in the graphics and licensing. Current projects include a new line of wallpaper, which will be out in May; a set of books she is writing and illustrating around religious themes; and a set of notecards featuring designs made of appliqued wool.
Much of her work centers on certain themes, such as "American Fish" decorated with fat fish and American flags; "Head of the Hen House," featuring roosters; and "Applebee," with images of apples and happy families. And, of course, the angels.
And that's just the way she wants it. Peace, love, country and family — those have been common themes of folk artists ever since the time of Grandma Moses.
Carol Endres will be at Country Furniture & Gifts at Gardner Village on Saturday, March 17, from noon to 4 p.m. The Village is located at 1100 W. 7800 South, West Jordan. For more information, call 801-566-8903.
E-mail: carma@desnews.com