Really Free: The Radical Art of Nellie Mae Rowe

An unprecedented look at Nellie Mae Rowes art as a radical act of self-expression and liberation in the post-civil rights-era South. This book offers an unprecedented view of how Rowe cultivated her drawing practice late in life, starting with colorful and simple sketches on found materials and moving toward her most celebrated, highly complex compositions on paper.

Format: Hardback
Length: 276 pages
Publication date: 30 November 2021
Publisher: Distributed Art Publishers

A groundbreaking exploration of Nellie Mae Rowe's art as a radical act of self-expression and liberation in the post-civil rights-era South

A New York Times Critics' Pick | Best Art Books 2021

During the final fifteen years of her life, Nellie Mae Rowe resided on Paces Ferry Road, a prominent thoroughfare in Vinings, Georgia, and warmly welcomed visitors to her "Playhouse," a space she adorned with found-object installations, handmade dolls, chewing-gum sculptures, and hundreds of drawings. Rowe's artistic journey began in her early years in rural Fayetteville, Georgia, but it was in the late 1960s, following the passing of her second husband and her long-time employer, that she found the time and space to reclaim her artistic practice.

This book presents an unprecedented perspective on how Rowe nurtured her drawing practice in her later years, beginning with vibrant and occasionally straightforward sketches on found materials and evolving towards her most celebrated and intricate compositions on paper. Through photographs and reconstructions of her Playhouse created for an experimental documentary on her life, this publication also marks the first time that her drawings are juxtaposed with her artistic environment.

Nellie Mae Rowe (1900–82) hailed from rural Fayetteville, Georgia. As her Playhouse gained popularity in Atlanta, she began showcasing her art beyond her home, starting with Missing Pieces: Georgia Folk Art, 1770–1976, a traveling exhibition that brought recognition to several Southern self-taught artists, including Rowe and Howard Finster. In 1982, the year she passed away, Rowe's work garnered a new level of acclaim, as she was honored with a solo exhibition at Spelman College and featured as one of only three women artists in the Corcoran Gallery of Arts' landmark exhibition.

Weight: 1894g
Dimension: 286 x 257 x 30 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781636810287