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Of her work, Evans said, “This has come to me, this art that I have put out, from nations that I suppose might have been destroyed before the flood. No one knows anything about them, but God has given it to me to bring them back into the world.” [1]
Scholars attribute Evans’s frequent use of plant forms in her drawings to her employment as a gate attendant at Airlie Gardens in Wilmington, North Carolina. She said, “Sometimes I want to get off in the garden to talk with God. I have the blooms, and when the blooms are gone, I love to watch the green. God dressed the world in green.” [2]
This piece depicts a mythical creature with eyes, a nose, and a mouth located on a strong central axis. The top of the figure’s head resembles a butterfly, and petal-like forms sprout from the head and neck. Below the figure’s mouth, a sun sets above a blue and green sea on the creature’s chin. Green forms marked by scrolling black lines occupy the figure’s shoulders, while a red-orange and yellow flower blooms in the center bottom portion of the drawing. The effect is mysterious and otherworldly, a product of the artist’s dreams.
Works of art by Evans are included in the collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
[1] https://www.nytimes.com/1987/12/19/obituaries/minnie-evans-95-folk-painter-noted-for-visionary-work.html, accessed 11/3/21
[2] Ibid.
Provenance1990 [1]
St. John's Museum of Art, Wilmington, NC
1990 - 2022 [1]
Mr. and Mrs. Leslie Baker
From 2022
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC
Notes
[1] Label on back of frame and documentation in object file
Exhibition History2023
Still I Rise: The Black Experince at Reynolda
Reynolda House Museum of American Art
DepartmentAmerican Art
Untitled
Artist
Minnie Evans
(1892 - 1987)
Date1948
MediumPencil and crayon on paper
DimensionsPaper: 11 1/2 × 9 in. (29.2 × 22.9 cm)
SignedMinnie Evans 48
Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. Leslie Baker
Copyright© Estate of Minnie Evans
Object number2022.1.2
DescriptionBorn in Long Creek, North Carolina, Minnie Evans was a self-taught African American artist. She began drawing in middle age, and she attributed her compulsion to make art to divine inspiration. Her work is characterized by an emphatic symmetry, vivid colors, and imagery that combines human faces and natural forms.Of her work, Evans said, “This has come to me, this art that I have put out, from nations that I suppose might have been destroyed before the flood. No one knows anything about them, but God has given it to me to bring them back into the world.” [1]
Scholars attribute Evans’s frequent use of plant forms in her drawings to her employment as a gate attendant at Airlie Gardens in Wilmington, North Carolina. She said, “Sometimes I want to get off in the garden to talk with God. I have the blooms, and when the blooms are gone, I love to watch the green. God dressed the world in green.” [2]
This piece depicts a mythical creature with eyes, a nose, and a mouth located on a strong central axis. The top of the figure’s head resembles a butterfly, and petal-like forms sprout from the head and neck. Below the figure’s mouth, a sun sets above a blue and green sea on the creature’s chin. Green forms marked by scrolling black lines occupy the figure’s shoulders, while a red-orange and yellow flower blooms in the center bottom portion of the drawing. The effect is mysterious and otherworldly, a product of the artist’s dreams.
Works of art by Evans are included in the collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
[1] https://www.nytimes.com/1987/12/19/obituaries/minnie-evans-95-folk-painter-noted-for-visionary-work.html, accessed 11/3/21
[2] Ibid.
Provenance1990 [1]
St. John's Museum of Art, Wilmington, NC
1990 - 2022 [1]
Mr. and Mrs. Leslie Baker
From 2022
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC
Notes
[1] Label on back of frame and documentation in object file
Exhibition History2023
Still I Rise: The Black Experince at Reynolda
Reynolda House Museum of American Art
Status
Not on viewCollections