Tempera on paper with collage, unsigned, float mounted and framed under glass.

Sheet 19 5/8 x 25 1/2 in.; Frame dimensions 26 1/2 x 31 1/2 x 1 in.

Private Collection of a North Carolinian

Laura Craig McNellis was born in Nashville, Tennessee. She is autistic and non-literate, with a limited ability to verbally communicate to others unfamiliar with her speech. From a young age, her family encouraged her artistic talents. Her father would bring home blank newsprint for Laura to paint on, and which she continues to solely prefer today.

Laura's paintings are bold and energetic visual representations of her daily life and inner thoughts. She works quickly and most often late at night. A bright multi-rayed sun often occupies the top right corner of each work, while cut-out letters dance across the lower margin.

In 2000, following the death of her parents, Laura's sisters moved her to Signature in Morganton, North Carolina. Signature is the country's only home for artistically gifted and developmentally challenged adults. The house was opened in 1993 by Western Carolina Center Foundation, supported by the The Enola Group. In 1994, Studio XI, a studio co-operative and gallery was created to serve as an alternative to traditional day placement options for the talented artists living at the Signature.

McNellis' work has been exhibited internationally and is found in numerous public and private collections including the Collection de l'Art Brut in Lausanne, Switzerland and the High Museum in Atlanta, Georgia,

Good estate condition; not examined out of the frame.