Nellie Mae Rowe, Vinings, Georgia
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Object Details
Artist/Maker
Melinda Blauvelt, American, born 1949
Date
1971, printed 2021
Medium
Gelatin silver print
Dimensions
Framed/Mounted: 29 1/4 x 23 1/4 x 1 1/4 inches (74.3 cm x 59.1 cm x 3.2 cm)
Image/Sight: 21 3/4 x 14 5/8 inches (55.2 cm x 37.1 cm)
Credit
Gift of the artist
Accession #
2021.69
Image Copyright
© Melinda Blauvelt
Description
In this stunning portrait, Melinda Blauvelt captured the extraordinary air that Rowe seemed to carry with her at the Playhouse. Rowe pressed bottle caps into the ground, creating the effect of shiny penny tile near the threshold of her gate, which she wove with old straps and cords, a tribute, perhaps, to her father, who was a talented basket maker. Blauvelt was among the first photographers to make Rowe her subject, and her portraits were used in the groundbreaking 1982 exhibition Black Folk Art in America, 1930–1980, discussed toward the end of the exhibition.