“Sugaring Off” is a genre painting created in 1955 by the artist known as Grandma Moses, renowned for her contributions to the Naïve Art (Primitivism) movement. This painting is part of her “Sugaring Off” series.
The artwork depicts a lively winter scene bustling with activity in a rural community. The snowy landscape is populated by numerous figures engaged in the traditional process of maple sugar production. The scene is rich with detail, featuring people of all ages collecting sap from the trees, tending fires used for boiling sap into syrup, and engaging in various aspects of the sugaring-off process. The leafless trees stand out starkly against the white backdrop, creating a sense of coldness, while the presence of many animals, including horses and oxen, adds to the agrarian atmosphere. The spontaneity and innocence typical of Naïve Art are palpable in the depiction, conveying both the simplicity and the laboriousness of rural life.
