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Biography · Arts & Performance

Nellie Mae Rowe

1900–1982

United States

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Biography

Nellie Mae Rowe (July 4, 1900 – October 18, 1982) was an African-American artist from Fayette County, Georgia. Although she is best known today for her colorful works on paper, Rowe worked across mediums, creating drawings, collages, altered photographs, hand-sewn dolls, home installations and sculptural environments. She was said to have an "instinctive understanding of the relation between color and form." Her work focuses on race, gender, domesticity, African-American folklore, and spiritual traditions.

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Biography text · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source checked 2026-10-13

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