Minnie Evans (1892–1987), a self-taught African American artist who worked for 25 years as a ticket seller at Airlie Gardens in Wilmington, North Carolina, is experiencing a major resurgence. Long overlooked after her death, Evans created thousands of vibrant, kaleidoscopic drawings featuring florals, animals, and abstraction, often on scrap paper using affordable materials. A touring exhibition, "The Visionary Art of Minnie Evans," is currently on view at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, curated by Colton Klein, and a larger exhibition opens this November at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta before traveling to the Whitney Museum of American Art in summer 2026. Evans had a 1975 retrospective at the Whitney during her lifetime but faded from prominence afterward.
This resurgence matters because it corrects a historical oversight of a significant African American visionary artist who created art outside traditional art world structures. Evans's story highlights how institutional recognition can be fleeting for self-taught artists, especially those from marginalized backgrounds, and underscores the importance of reexamining art history to include diverse voices. Her work, deeply inspired by the natural landscape of North Carolina and her Christian faith, offers a unique blend of spirituality, symmetry, and folk imagery that resonates with contemporary audiences and curators seeking to broaden the canon.