Minnie Adkins
Self-taught Artist | Carver, painter, inspirer | By appointment only
Minnie Adkins was born in 1934 and her husband, Garland was born in 1928, both in Isonville, Ky. Garland died at home in Isonville on November 6, 1997. They spent many years working in Ohio and returned to Minnie's homeplace, which she renamed "Peaceful Valley," in the 1980s. Minnie carved as a child, but she took up carving full time after returning to Kentucky. Garland started carving a little later.
Although the Adkinses co-signed everything they made, they usually worked separately. Minnie is best known for her carved and painted red foxes, but she also makes bears, possums, tigers and other animals. Garland was best known for his elegant horses that were either painted black or left unpainted, depending on the look of the wood. Garland died at home in Isonville on November 6, 1997.
In 2000, Minnie married Herman Peters, a retired pipe-fitter, who is now working with Minnie to create her signiture animals in steel. She continues to work in wood as well.
Minnie was the 1992 recipient of the inaugural Jane Morton Norton Award given by the Norton Center for the Arts for achievement in advancing the arts in Kentucky. She also received the Award of Distinction from the Folk Art Society of America in 1993 and the Appalachian Treasure Award in 1994. In 1998, she was awarded an honorary doctorate degree from Morehead State University.
The Adkinses' work has been featured in many museum and gallery exhibitions. Their work is in the permanent collections of the Owensboro Museum of Fine Art, Ky.; the Kentucky Folk Art Center at Morehead State University; the Huntington Museum of Art, W.V.; and the Craft and Folk Art Museum, Los Angeles. Their work is also in the collections of Oprah Winfrey and Barbara Streisand.
Credit: Ann Tower Gallery
Creator: Minnie Adkins: 1934-
HC 75 Box 1690
Isonville, KY
606-738-5779
https://www.minnieadkinsart.com
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Books
"Detour Art—Outsider, Folk Art, and Visionary Folk Art Environments Coast to Coast, Art and Photographs from the Collection of Kelly Ludwig" by Kelly Ludwig, Kansas City Star Books, 2007.
"Rare Visions and Roadside Revelations, "Eastern Weaseling", KCPT, Kansas City Public Television, 2002.
"20th Century American Folk, Self Taught, and Outsider Art" by Betty-Carol Sellen, Cynthia J. Johnson, Neal-Schuman Publishers, New York, 1993.
"O Appalachia: Artists of the Southern Mountain" by Ramona Lampell and Millard Lampell with David Larkin, 1989.
"Let it Shine: Self-Taught Art from the T. Marshall Hahn Collection" by Lynne E. Spriggs, Joanne Cubbs, Lynda Roscoe Hartigan, Susan Mitchell Crawley, Michael E. Shapiro and Peter Harholdt, organized by the High Museum of Art, 2001.
"Self Taught, Outsider, and Folk Art—A guide to American Artists, Locations and Resources" by Betty-Carol Sellen with Cynthia J. Johnson, McFarland & Company, 2000.
"Contemporary American Folk Art - A Collector's Guide" Chuck and Jan Rosenak, Abbeville Press, 1996.
"Flying Free: Twentieth-Century Self-Taught Art from the Collection of Ellin and Baron Gordon" by Ellin Gordon, Barbara L. Luck and Tom Patterson, exhibit catalog for The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center, 1997.
"Rare Visions and Roadside Revelations Coast to Coast Travel-o-Pedia" by Randy Mason, et. al., Kansas City Star Books, 2009.
"Minnie Adkins: Artist" by Gwen Heffner and Kate Parker (University Press of Kentucky, 2014)
"Minnie Adkins: Appalachian Folk Art and Memories" by Minnie Adkins and Susan E. Todd (University Press of Kentucky, 2004)
Magazine Articles:
"Minnie Adkins: Kentucky Folk Artist" by Mary Ellen Hendricks, Kentucky Living Magazine, January/February 2016. (https://www.kentuckyliving.com/explore/minnie-adkins-kentucky-folk-artist/)
"Kentucky Folk Artist Minnie Adkins" by KET, Kentucky Educational Television, December 2, 2013. (https://www.ket.org/episode/KKYLI%20002403/)
"Minnie Adkins: Kentucky Folk Artist Extraordinaire" by Wendy Harris, Journal of Kentucky Studies, vol. 29, 2013. (https://www.journalofkentuckystudies.org/minnie-adkins-kentucky-folk-artist-extraordinaire)
Websites:
Minnie Adkins' official website (https://www.minnieadkinsart.com/)
Minnie Adkins on the Kentucky Arts Council website (https://www.kyarts.org/artist/minnie-adkins)
Minnie Adkins on the Southern Highland Craft Guild website (https://www.southernhighlandguild.org/member/minnie-adkins/)
