From the archives: Losing a celebrated artist and Airlie's gatekeeper

From a Pender County upbringing to being showcased in the nation's most prominent museums, Minnie Evans achieved international recognition as a visionary artist.

The Dec. 17, 1987, edition of the Wilmington StarNews reported Evans died a day earlier at age 95 in Grotgen Nursing Home in Wilmington.

Born in 1892, Evans didn't begin drawing and painting until her 40s, brought on by what she said were voices and dreams. In the late 1940s, Evans started work as the gatekeeper at Airlie Gardens, a post she held until 1974, when health reasons forced her into retirement.

A photography student discovered Evans' work in the 1960s and began showing her art on a national stage.

Her work hangs in prominent museums throughout the nation, including New York’s Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art, the National Museum of Modern Art in Washington, D.C., the High Museum of Art in Atlanta and, of course, the Cameron Art Museum in Wilmington.

Evans continued to paint even after she was moved into a long-term care facility.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: When Wilmington NC artist Minnie Evans died