Annie Wellborn.
(1928-2010, Georgia)
Shingel Tops on Roofs.
2002.
Signed and titled.
Acrylic on plywood.
Excellent condition.
Image is 35"w x 26.75"h.
Frame is 40"w x 32"h.
Provenance: Purchased directly from the artist.
Ted and Ann Oliver Collection.
Mike Dale Collection.
Est. $600-$800.
Ship: $150

Annie Geraldine Savage was born in 1928 and raised near Lexington, Georgia, one of eleven children of Tallie and Ruby Savage. Wellborn's father was a lumberjack, and the family moved frequently when he sought employment. Farm life in the 1930s was hard, and Wellborn recalls slopping the hogs and the other chores she did as a girl. She married Jimmie Wellborn and they had two daughters.

Wellborn had health problems throughout her life. At age nine, when she was stricken with malaria, Wellborn saw a vision of an angel at the foot of her bed. These visions of angels over her bed returned to her frequently throughout her life, some of whom she recognized as close relatives. Wellborn also had visions of fiery red balls, which she said signaled the arrival or departure of someone close to her. Wellborn battled cancer for many years. After returning from the hospital after an extended stay, weighing only 70 pounds, she had another vision in which God commanded her to paint and that others would come to Him through her work. At first she resisted, but she eventually complied with her divine edict to paint. She applied acrylic paint to whatever surface she could get her hands on. Tarpaper, vinyl, paper, wallpaper, wood, canvas, and old furniture were all covered with her creations.

Wellborn's works fell into two categories: her visionary paintings of angels and fireballs, which she called her "spiritual release", and her memory paintings of life growing up on the farm, which she called her "earthy stuff." The painting offered here is of the latter category. The painting is titled "Shingel (Shingle) Tops on Roofs." Wellborn often gave explanations with her works to give the viewer greater insight into the painting, which she did with this one as she wrote: "Grandad made the shingels. The Savage Sons Shingel Co." The painting features several buildings—a church, a school, and two homes—with shingles made by her grandfather. The painting is colorful and lively and thickly painted—she never skimped when applying paint to a surface.

Wellborn's paintings have been exhibited at the Georgia Museum of Art in Athens, Georgia, and the Fenimore Art Museum in Cooperstown, New York. In her later years, Wellborn lived in a home in Statham, Georgia, with her brother-in-law, Carter Wellborn, who had mental disabilities. She taught him to draw and paint, and his work was well received by art brut collectors in the United States, France, and Germany. Annie died in 2010 at age 81; Carter died three years later at age 86.