Minnie Evans (1892-1987) was a self-taught artist who never intended to pursue a career in art. Born to a family of farmers near Wilmington, North Carolina, she spent her early years in Pender County before moving to Wilmington for school. After marrying and having three children, Evans dedicated herself to her religious beliefs. It wasn’t until she experienced vivid dreams and visions that she made her first drawing on Good Friday in 1935, when she was in her early 40s.
In 1969, Evans explained her process, saying, “I never plan a drawing. They just happen. In a dream, it was shown to me what I have to do, of paintings. The whole entire horizon all the way across the whole earth was out together like this with pictures. All over my yard, up all the sides of trees and everywhere were pictures.”
“The Lost World: The Art of Minnie Evans” is a current exhibition at the High Museum of Art, showcasing Evans’ unique work. The title references Evans’ own description of her artistic inspiration, drawn from visions of religious imagery depicting places destroyed by the Great Flood as described in the Book of Genesis.
Despite working as a domestic worker for most of her life, Evans took on a new job as an admissions taker at Airlie Gardens in Wilmington at the age of 56. The botanical garden’s lush landscapes provided endless inspiration for her drawings, which often featured foliage, petals, and faces arranged in a symmetrical manner. Using a variety of materials such as ink, crayon, pencil, paint, and pen, Evans emphasized vibrant colors and repeated patterns in her work.
Evans gained recognition for her art when she displayed her drawings for sale at the Airlie Gardens gate. Her work eventually led to a solo exhibition in New York titled “The Lost World of Minnie Evans.” The current exhibition at the High Museum of Art features over 100 pieces, highlighting the spiritual and historical aspects of Evans’ life in the Jim Crow South.
As one of the first Black artists to have a solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, “The Lost World” exhibition at the High Museum of Art is the first major presentation of Evans’ work in about three decades. The show will run until April 19 in Atlanta, showcasing the extraordinary talent and vision of Minnie Evans.
