20/06/2024
I love this approach to making art!!!
A self-taught artist, Nellie Mae Rowe created extraordinary art from ordinary things. “I would take nothin’ and make somethin’ out of it. Ever since I was a child, I’ve been that way,” she declared.
Born in Fayetteville, Georgia, Rowe channeled her creative spirit by drawing on Styrofoam packaging, making chewing-gum sculptures, or fashioning dolls from stockings and old clothing. These remarkable works filled her yard and the little cottage she affectionately called her “playhouse.”
In the summer of 1971—before Rowe’s work was widely known—photographer Melinda Blauvelt traveled to Georgia seeking subjects for her camera. On Paces Ferry Road in the rural community of Vinings, she happened upon the artist and her magical “playhouse.” Enchanted, Blauvelt asked permission to photograph Rowe and the “magical mosaic” of work surrounding her. She graciously agreed, and the resulting images, including this portrait, are an evocative record of Rowe and her art.
🏛️ Visit this portrait on the first floor of the National Portrait Gallery in the "Recent Acquisitions" exhibition.
📸: "Nellie Mae Rowe, Vinings, Georgia" by Melinda Blauvelt, 1971 (printed 2021). National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. Gift of the artist. © Melinda Blauvelt
