Minnie Evans (NC, 1892-1987), Untitled (Faces, Leaves and Flowers)

Oil crayon and graphite on paper, signed at lower right, matted and framed below glass.

Sheet size 11 3/4 x 9 in.; Frame dimensions 18 x 15 in.

Minnie Evans was a self-taught African American artist renowned for her vivid, visionary drawings that blend religious symbolism, natural motifs, and dreamlike imagery. Born in Long Creek, North Carolina, and raised in Wilmington, Evans began creating art in 1935 after experiencing a spiritual vision that compelled her to draw. Her works, rendered in wax crayon, pencil, and later oil and collage, are characterized by symmetrical compositions featuring faces, eyes, flowers, and fantastical creatures. Evans drew inspiration from her deep Christian faith, ancestral stories, and the lush surroundings of Airlie Gardens, where she worked as a gatekeeper, a role that allowed her to sell her art directly to visitors.

Evans's significance in the realm of outsider art has been reinforced by recent major exhibitions. In May 2025, the MFA Boston presented "The Visionary Art of Minnie Evans." On November 14, 2025, The High Museum of Art in Atlanta opened The Lost World: The Art of Minnie Evans, the first major retrospective of her work in three decades and featuring over 100 pieces. In Summer 2026, this exhibition travels to the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, bringing her visionary art full circle to the institution that hosted her groundbreaking solo exhibition in 1975. These exhibitions have cemented Evans's position as one of the most important visionary artists of the twentieth century, whose intricate, kaleidoscopic works reflect both her inner spiritual world and the landscapes of coastal North Carolina.

Toning to sheet; damp stains to sheet with ring stain in lower right corner; two small tears to lower left corner that do not extend to image; creasing to top left and right corners; not examined out of the frame.