Nellie Mae Rowe
1900-1982
Untitled (Woman Talking to Animals)
1981
Black ballpoint pen, black porous-point pen, wax crayon, water-soluble oil pastel, and graphite on wove paper.
24 x 18 15/16 in. (61 x 48 cm)
Gift of the Souls Grown Deep Foundation from the William S. Arnett Collection and purchase on the Manley Family Fund.
© Nellie Mae Rowe / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
2018.101
Notes:
Rowe, a self-taught artist who lived in Vinings, Georgia, began making art in earnest at the age of 48, after the death of her second husband. Her art practice encompassed the creation of drawings, dolls, and found-object assemblages, but also the decoration of her home and yard. Many of her drawings incorporate animals that were familiar to her, particularly fish, birds, and dogs. Dogs such as those in this work functioned as companions, guardians, and even as stand-ins for humans. Created toward the end of her life, this work may also refer to the belief that dogs transport humans to the afterlife.
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