First published: Summer 2023
Taking a close look at a beguiling artwork by a creator who found inspiration, spirituality and peace in nature
Created in 1948, this abstract drawing by Minnie Evans (1892–1987) is replete with many of the hallmarks of the artist’s oeuvre: swirling symmetry, bold yet delicately shaded colours, delineated floral and seed-like forms, cornucopias, and eyes of God. Made with crayon, graphite and ballpoint pen on beige wove paper, the artwork was cut to its snap-dragon shape and affixed to a second sheet of paper.
Untitled (Abstraction), 1948, wax crayon, graphite and ballpoint pen on wove paper, cut and adhered to wove paper, 11 X 13.5 in. / 27.5 x 34.5 cm, Philadelphia Museum of Art
The swooping composition leads the eye on a merry-go-round of organic forms, evoking leaves, seed pods, insect wings, peaches and more, which together form a dreamlike whole. Elegant colour gradations add depth, as do scraped hatchings within the cornucopias and dark-blue almond shapes. Several pale, stippled areas suggest the warm air of the American coastal south – heavy with humidity and pollen, abuzz with cicadas tuning up their tymbals.
By EMILY B SCHILLING
This is an article extract; read the full article in Raw Vision #115.
