Airlie Oak

Minnie Evans, Airlie Oak, 1954, oil paint on wood, 14 × 18 × 2 in. (35.6 × 45.7 × 5.1 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Josh Feldstein, 2017.35.2

Artwork Details

Title
Airlie Oak
Artist
Date
1954
Location
Dimensions
14 × 18 × 2 in. (35.6 × 45.7 × 5.1 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Josh Feldstein
Mediums Description
oil paint on wood
Classifications
Subjects
  • Object — furniture — bench
  • Landscape — tree — oak tree
Object Number
2017.35.2
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2017.35.2

Artwork Description

Minnie Evans lived most of her life in North Carolina. At seventeen, she found work as a gatekeeper in the lush gardens of a coastal estate, Airlie-on-Sound, which became a public park in 1949. Evans felt inspired by God to celebrate his resplendent creations with art. In free moments, she drew or painted floral scenes with goddess-like figures in their midst. In Airlie Oak, Evans honored an immense 400-year-old tree at Airlie; a live oak over twenty-feet-wide at the base. She created this bas-relief from bits of dried paint, made malleable with turpentine and added cumulatively over time, as she explained: "I just kept on doing that until I got this big old tree."

Works by this artist (1036 items)

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William H. Johnson, Breakdown with Flat Tire, ca. 1940-1941, oil on plywood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.587
Breakdown with Flat Tire
Artist
Dateca. 1940-1941
oil on plywood
On view
William H. Johnson, Chain Gang, ca. 1939, oil on plywood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.675
Chain Gang
Artist
Dateca. 1939
oil on plywood
On view
William H. Johnson, Ferry Boat Trip, ca. 1943-1944, oil on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.1011
Ferry Boat Trip
Artist
Dateca. 1943-1944
oil on paperboard
On view
William H. Johnson, For India and China, ca. 1944-1945, oil on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.662
For India and China
Artist
Dateca. 1944-1945
oil on paperboard
On view

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Seated Female Nude on Brown Chair
Artist
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William H. Johnson, Male Nude on Yellow Stool, ca. 1939-1940, recto: tempera on paper verso: pencil and charcoal on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.201R-V
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Dateca. 1939-1940
recto: tempera on paper verso: pencil and charcoal on paper
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William H. Johnson, William H. Johnson, Bearded Man with Blue Vest, ca. 1939-1940, recto: tempera on paper verso: charcoal on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.327R-V
Bearded Man with Blue Vest
Artist
Dateca. 1939-1940
recto: tempera on paper verso: charcoal on paper
Not on view
William H. Johnson, Seated Woman in Flowered Dress, ca. 1939-1940, tempera and charcoal on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.320
Seated Woman in Flowered Dress
Artist
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tempera and charcoal on paper
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