Nellie Mae Rowe's Lush Life

Back when I used to man the information desk at the High or find my self stationed in the galleries, I seemed to repeat the same lines over and over: "The cafe is on the lower level, the bathrooms are down the hall, Nellie Mae Rowe's work is to your left."

Joyous, radiant and approachable, Rowe's drawings appeal to many -- including those who normally don't appreciate self-taught art. The daughter of a former slave, Rowe was born in Fayetteville, Georgia in 1900. High curator Susan Mitchell Crawley writes that Rowe used art to escape the tedium of her chores and throughout her life passionately created pieces from whatever materials were at hand.

The examples shown here happen to be from Barbara Archer Gallery and the Ogden Museum (see complete credits below), but the High has well over 100 of Rowe's works, a fairly recent bequest by art patron Judith Alexander. In fact, the High is the only major museum in North America with a curatorial department specifically devoted to folk and self-taught art.

There is something about Rowe's dense patterns and electrifying color combinations that could really inspire textile designers.

Clearly the natural beauty of the South inspired Rowe. Here, a few flashbacks to favorite flower-filled images. Above, Vesta Fort's vignette photographed by Paul Costello for domino, May 2006, and below a hydrangea garland by Dorothy McDaniel, photography courtesy Southern Accents.

Art credits from the top:
Nellie Mae Rowe
Untitled, 1982
18" x 24"
crayon on paper
Barbara Archer Gallery

Picking Berries, 1981
16 1/2" x 14"
marker and crapas on paper
Barbara Archer Gallery

Untitled
1980
Mixed media on paper
The Ogden Museum of Southern Art
Anonymous Donation (Gift of Judith Alexander and Barbara Archer Gallery)

Couldn't resist this pairing. Dress is Trina Turk.