Nan Phelps facts for kids

Nan Phelps (born Nannie Dorothea Hinkle; August 25, 1904 – January 17, 1990) was an American folk artist. She came from London, Kentucky. Many people compare her paintings to those of the famous artist Grandma Moses. They have similar styles and subjects.

About Nan Phelps

Nan Phelps was born in Lily, Laurel County, Kentucky. She was the second child of John Hinkle and Lula Hinkle. Her father was a Baptist preacher.

From a very young age, Nan loved nature. She spent hours looking at rocks, flowers, plants, and clouds. When she was five, she got a box of crayons. This started her amazing talent and love for drawing. As a teenager, she began painting when a teacher gave her some watercolors and paper.

In 1922, Nan Phelps moved from Kentucky to Hamilton, Ohio. Even though times were tough, she kept painting. She raised five children and started using oil paints. In the 1930s, her art was shown at the Cincinnati Art Museum. It was also displayed in local art shows. In 1940, she won a local talent show. This win gave her a scholarship to attend the Art Academy of Cincinnati.

In the 1950s, Nan Phelps traveled to New York City. She wanted more people to see her art. There, her work caught the eye of Otto Kallir. He was the person who discovered Grandma Moses. This started a long friendship between Phelps and the Galerie St. Etienne. This gallery still shows her work today.

After this trip, Nan Phelps' paintings became more famous in the folk art world. Her art was shown in many museums. In the 1980s, her work was noticed by Jay Johnson. He was a New York gallery owner and an expert in American folk art. Johnson bought and showed Phelps' paintings in many exhibits. One show was just for her art.

In 1989, Nan Phelps showed two paintings in the Daimaru Museum in Kyoto, Japan. Her art was displayed alongside other folk artists like Grandma Moses. Her paintings have also been shown in United States Embassies in other countries. One of her paintings was even on the front cover of a book. It was also shown on David Letterman’s TV show in 1986.

Nan Phelps passed away in early 1990. She was 85 years old. She kept painting until she went to the hospital in late 1989. While in the hospital, she asked for her paint brushes. She wanted to paint, but she was too weak. Looking out the window, she said, "I wish I could paint those clouds."

Nan Phelps' Paintings

Nan Phelps painted a lot! She worked for over sixty years. She created more than 1000 paintings. She didn't have much formal art training. But she didn't like her art to be called "naïve."

She painted many different things. Her subjects included landscapes (scenes of nature) and still life (pictures of objects). She also painted tropical beaches, western scenes, and historic figures. She loved to paint traditional folk art subjects too. Many of these showed scenes from her childhood on a farm.

Nan Phelps also painted many portraits. These were mostly of her family, especially her grandchildren. Adrian Swain, a curator at the Kentucky Folk Art Center, said:

“Her subject matter was varied. It included landscapes, still life, western scenes and historic figures. She had a natural sense of form, color and design.”

Phelps' paintings also came in many sizes. Some were tiny, just 1 inch by 1 inch. Others were huge murals, up to 6 feet by 17 feet. She painted on canvas, but also on natural things like seashells and rocks.

Today, you can still see Nan Phelps' art. It is displayed in galleries, churches, museums, and homes around the world.

Selected Artworks

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  The Birth of Baby Jesus (1950)

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  Birds on a Wire (1978)

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  Flowers in a Blue Vase (1975)

Exhibitions and Collections

Solo Exhibitions

• March 7 – June 13, 1999 – Kentucky Folk Art Center, Morehead, Kentucky. The Paintings of Nan Phelps.
• November 6 – November 20 – Jay Johnson America’s Folk Heritage Gallery. Nan Phelps.

Group Exhibitions

• September 15–30, 1970 – Galerie Paula Insel, New York, New York
• January 1–25, 1974 – The Copley Society of Art, Boston, Massachusetts.
• June 8–9, 1975 – Lynn Kottler Galleries, New York, New York
• January 1982 – Galerie St. Etienne, New York, New York
• March 29 - April 11, 1989 - Daimaru Museum, Kyoto, Japan
• May 13 – September 1990 – Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati, Ohio

Museum Collections

• American Folk Art Museum, New York, New York
• Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati, Ohio
• The Henry Ford Art Collection, Detroit, Michigan
• Kentucky Folk Art Center
• New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, Louisiana
• Roosevelt University, Chicago, Illinois
• Cumberland Valley Art Gallery, London, Kentucky

See also

• List of American artists 1900 and after
• Grandma Moses
• Horace Pippin