Annie Wellborn 1928-2010
(photos courtesy of Ted Oliver, Oliver's Folk Art)
It has been a hard month for folk art. Annie Geraldine Wellborn, one of the most well-known folk artists in Georgia, died early this morning at her home near Statham.
Wellborn, who would have turned 82 next month, had cancer and recently had gotten hospice care, said her daughter Sandra Hansford.
Wellborn, who lived in Bishop for years, was known for her paintings of angels and her memory paintings — or, as she called them, her “spiritual release” and “my earthy stuff.”
Art Rosenbaum, an art professor at the University of Georgia known for his interests in folk music and art, said in a 2006 interview that Wellborn is one of the most important artists of this genre in Georgia.
Memory paintings capture youth and life in an earlier time, he said.
“Someone like Annie can put those memories in bright and vivid designs. I think that is one of her strengths. She can really construct strong compositions. They are very assertive and lively, very original and exciting to the eye. She can reach back into the past and do something that is very fresh and it’s not a cliché or sentimental at all, but presents an image that can challenge a response from the viewer on some level other than the anecdotal.”
Funeral arrangements are incomplete.