Minnie Evans

THE BOLD OPUS OF MINNIE EVANS WAS INFORMED BY HER LOVE OF FLORA AND FAUNA AND A PROFOUND CHRISTIAN BELIEF SYSTEM. EVANS, WHO ACKNOWLEDGED TRINIDADIAN AND SLAVE DESCENT, WAS GATEKEEPER AT AIRLIE GARDENS IN NORTH CAROLINA: A PHYSICAL SURROUNDING WHICH INFLUENCED THE PARADISAL LANDSCAPES WHICH SHE COMMENCED IN MIDDLE AGE. EVANS EXPLAINED THE ILLUSTRATIONS - WHICH WERE DOTTED WITH MAGICAL FACES, BENEVOLENT ANGELS AND MYSTICAL BEASTS - AS THE VISIONS SHE HAD EXPERIENCED SINCE CHILDHOOD. TODAY THEY ARE CONSIDERED AMONG THE 20TH CENTURY’S MOST IMPORTANT BLACK VISIONARY ARTWORKS. EVANS WAS MOST RECENTLY INCLUDED IN THE BOTANICAL MIND (2020) AT CAMDEN ART CENTRE AND IS IN COLLECTIONS AT THE WHITNEY MUSEUM AND THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART IN NEW YORK.