Creation (Pink Fish)
Date1981
MediumColored pencil and crapas on paper
DimensionsImage: 13 15/16 × 16 15/16 inches (35.4 × 43 cm)
Sheet: 13 15/16 × 16 15/16 inches (35.4 × 43 cm)
Matted: 20 × 24 inches (50.8 × 61 cm)
Credit LineGift of The Judith Alexander Foundation.
Object number2011.20.1
Copyright© 2024 Estate of Nellie Mae Rowe / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
The images and text contained on this page are owned by Telfair Museums or used by the Museum with permission from the owners. Unauthorized reproduction, transmission or display of these materials is prohibited with the exception of items deemed “fair use” as defined by U.S. and international copyright laws.Label TextBorn in Fayetteville, Georgia, Nellie Mae Rowe’s day-to-day revolved around tending to her husband’s or family’s farms and the homes she cleaned as a housekeeper. Although she sketched in her free time, Rowe’s career was launched later in her life, at the age of 48.
In Creation (Pink Fish), a plethora of animals, humans, and hybrids organically interact across the composition. Eschewing a realistic perspective and sense of depth, her creatures appear to float in an otherworldly space, emphasizing the flow of spiritual energy. In Rowe’s work, fish frequently denote the idea of reproduction, and this drawing suggests the unity of all things divinely created.
