Minnie Evans was born in Long Creek, North Carolina in 1892 to a family with its roots in Trinidad. She was raised in Wilmington, North Carolina, by her grandmother. After completing the fifth grade, she worked selling seafood on the street and later became a domestic worker. She married in 1908 and had three sons. In 1948, when she became the gatekeeper art Arlie Gardens, she started spending more time drawing. Most of the images in her art came from her dreams, and have been described as "primarily symmetrically patterned and vividly illustrated". There is a Light-Saraf film, "The Angel That Stands by Me" about her life, her work, and her family. The Wellington B. Gray Gallery at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina, had a retrospective exhibition of her work in 1993, which included a celebration and symposium on the opening day. Her work is included in the National Museum of American Art at the Smithsonian Institution as well as the High Museum. Minnie died in 1987.
Dreams 8 x 11 matted and framed to 19 x 21 oil and crayon on paper $4,800
