Happy Birthday Alice Latimer Moseley (1909-2004)

On December 21, 1909 Alice Latimer Moseley was born in Birmingham, Alabama. She was the oldest daughter of Earl and Mildred Latimer. After graduating from  Ensley High School, she attended the University of Alabama. In 1929, her father died and shortly thereafter she married William Jones “Moses” Moseley. They moved to Batesville, Mississippi — a place depicted in a number of her works.

After her son, Tim, was born they moved to Memphis. There Alice earned her teaching permit,  began teaching Eighth grade English while earning her Bachelors in Education then Masters at Memphis State University, now the University of Memphis.

Teacher Why is Recess our Shortest Subject, Neal Auction Company, July 13, 2008, lot 1053

Known as “Miss Alice, ” she didn’t begin painting until the age 60 as a way of coping with the stress of caring for her Alzheimer’s-inflicted mother, who came to live with them. Her husband crafted frames out of wood from old barns and she began to exhibit her work. She said that every time she painted, she was capturing a moment in history.

Winter Wonderland, Neal Auction Company, July 13, 2008, lot 1189

See more: Moseley Folk Art & Antique Museum and Memphis Brooks Museum of Art

[top pic from Alice Moseley museum, remaining two from Neal Auction Company]