Really Free: The Radical Art of Nellie Mae Rowe

 

Really Free: The Radical Art of Nellie Mae Rowe

 

Happy Days


Several plants and animals are depicted in a black, cerulean blue, green, and red background; the bottom of the artwork says, “Happy Days” with an arrow pointing to the right.

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Object Details


Artist/Maker

Nellie Mae Rowe, American, 1900–1982

Date

1981

Medium

Crayon and pencil on paper

Dimensions

18 x 24 inches

Credit

T. Marshall Hahn Collection

Accession #

1997.105

Image Copyright

© Estate of Nellie Mae Rowe/High Museum of Art, Atlanta.

Description

Dogs appear frequently in Rowe’s drawings and are often interpreted symbolically, most commonly as an alter ego or a kind of spirit animal. Rowe did not own dogs, but she used stuffed animals and other novelty dogs frequently in her installations at the Playhouse. The blue dog in Happy Days is particularly reminiscent of a toy dog she hung from a tree that was captured by photographer Lucinda Bunnen.