The Work of Nellie Mae Rowe at the Brooklyn Museum

Nellie Mae Rowe, American, 1900 - 1982 Untitled (Orange Dog and Blue Coated Person) 1980 Crayon and pencil on paper 32 × 36 in. (81.3 × 91.4 cm)

A new exhibition at The Brooklyn Museum celebrates the life and work of Nellie Mae Rowe, a Black female artist who created while living in the Jim Crow American South. Really Free: The Radical Art of Nellie Mae Rowe, displays Rowe's drawings, sculptures, and paintings, and tells the story of how she made art in a dangerous period for Black people in the South. Co-curators Catherine Morris and Jenée-Daria Strand are with us to talk about the life of Nellie Mae Rowe, and why her art is important to engage with.