Details

Title

Untitled (Blue Plant Woman)

Artist/Maker

Nellie Mae Rowe (American, 1900–1982)

Date

1978–1982

Medium

Crayon, colored pencil, and pencil on paper

Dimensions

13 3/4 x 11 inches

Credit

Gift of Judith Alexander

Accession #

2003.235

On View

Currently not on view

The central winged figure in this drawing is a “haint,” a Gullah word for a type of evil spirit. “Haint blue” is a pale, green-tinted shade of blue meant to mimic the appearance of sky or water and is often seen in Rowe’s work portraying ghosts or spirits. This haint is calmly perched on a log with a growing plant. The fluid nature of this figure shows that the boundaries of identity in Rowe’s work often blur and merge, like the haint and the plant.

Image Copyright

© Estate of Nellie Mae Rowe/High Museum of Art, Atlanta.