Annie Lee

Annie Frances Lee (3 March 1935 – 24 November 2014) was an African-American artist. She is known for her depiction of African-American everyday life. All characters in Annie’s paintings have one common trait; faces which has no features  She used body language to show emotion and expression in her work. Lee’s railroad job inspired one of her most popular paintings, Blue Monday. Blue Monday was Annie’s only self portrait but Lee still did not paint her face on the painting. She felt everybody can relate to having a Blue Monday.  Lee wanted her customers to picture themselves in the painting and the body language to tell the story.

Annie Lee’s work reflected her own experiences as well as her observations of those in communities around her. After showing her work in other galleries for a number of years, Lee opened Annie Lee and Friends Gallery in Glenwood, Illinois where she displayed her works as well as the works of other artists. When several of her paintings appeared on the sets of popular television shows such as The Cosby Show and A Different World, the exposure helped popularize her work.

Although she regularly received requests for public appearances, Lee preferred to appear at gallery shows. She also enjoyed visiting schools to encourage and inspire students. After many years, Lee left Chicago for the warm weather of the Las Vegas. The play “Six No Uptown,” written by L.A. Walker, Terry Horton, and Cassandra Sanders was inspired by Lee’s painting of the same name. The play opened in Las Vegas in 2014 and centers around a Bid Whist card game, Annie Lee’s game of choice.

Using her unique designs, Lee also developed figurines, high fashion dolls, decorative housewares, and kitchen tiles. Please visit figurines. Annie Lee passed away November 24, 2014.

Reference Wikipedia