Acclaimed American artist Minnie Evans (1892-1987) once described her drawings, filled with human, botanical and animal forms, as coming from the lost world, referring to the nations destroyed before the Flood. After her grandmother died in 1934 and the visions she had been experiencing since childhood became stronger, Evans went on to produce a large and celebrated body of work and in 1975 became one of the first Black artists to have a solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. Though she was lauded in her lifetime, she has not been the subject of a major exhibition since the 1990s. Inspired by its growing collection of her work, the High Museum of Art is organizing The Lost World: The Art of Minnie Evans, a nationally touring retrospective that brings together more than 100 of her fantastical drawings and puts them in the larger context of her extraordinary life. After premiering in Atlanta, Ga., this fall, the exhibition will travel to the Whitney in 2026. The High is blessed with an unparalleled collection of Southern, self-taught art; including what is likely the foremost public collection of Evans work. Given that, were uniquely positioned to organize this tour and bring renewed attention to her important legacy, said the Highs director Rand Suffolk. Her work is captivating, layered with symbolism, and striking in its detail. Atlanta shouldnt miss this retrospective and the opportunity to learn more about her fascinating life. Presented chronologically, The Lost World will begin with Evans spare, line-driven compositions of the 1930s and continue through to her colorful, complex compositions and lush, utopian mandalas of the 1960s.The exhibition will be accompanied by a multi-authored catalogue that convenes a range of perspectives on Evans and includes full color illustrations of her work, making it the first such major record of her accomplishments. Both the catalogue and the exhibition will explore how the forms and motifs in Evans drawings stem from not only Christian iconography, ancient mythology and visionary creativity, but also her Caribbean heritage and her work as gatekeeper of Airlie Gardens in Wilmington, N.C. In addition to her drawings, the exhibition will present historical photographs of Airlie Gardens and other archival material, including footage of Evans speaking about her work. The exhibition will thus broaden Evans lost world to include not only the fantastic revelations from her visions but also the constellation of social and historical circumstances that shaped her into the remarkable artist she became. The number of deserving self-taught artists who merit serious exhibitions is overwhelming, said Katherine Jentleson, senior curator of American art and Merrie and Dan Boone curator of folk and self-taught art, but Evans rose to the top of list for me because of the way that the work has been appearing in larger American, modern and contemporary art exhibitions, especially those reappraising legacies of Surrealism through feminist and Afro Diasporic lenses. There needed to be a standalone Evans show that will give her expanding audience an appreciation of the true scope of her brilliance and relevance today. The Lost World: The Art of Minnie Evans will be presented in the Special Exhibition Galleries on the second level of the Highs Stent Family Wing. The Lost World: The Art of Minnie Evans is organized by the High Museum of Art, Atlanta. This exhibition is made possible by Premier Exhibition Series Sponsor Delta Air Lines, Inc.; Premier Exhibition Series Supporters Mr. Joseph H. Boland, Jr., Harry Norman Realtors and Wish Foundation; Benefactor Exhibition Series Supporters Robin and Hilton Howell; Ambassador Exhibition Series Supporter Mrs. Harriet H. Warren; and Contributing Exhibition Series Supporters Farideh and Al Azadi, Mary and Neil Johnson, Mr. and Mrs. Baxter Jones, Megan and Garrett Langley, Margot and Danny McCaul, and Wade A. Rakes II and Nicholas Miller. Generous support is also provided by Alfred and Adele Davis Exhibition Endowment Fund, Anne Cox Chambers Exhibition Fund, Barbara Stewart Exhibition Fund, Dorothy Smith Hopkins Exhibition Endowment Fund, Eleanor McDonald Storza Exhibition Endowment Fund, The Fay and Barrett Howell Exhibition Fund, Forward Arts Foundation Exhibition Endowment Fund, Helen S. Lanier Endowment Fund, John H. and Wilhelmina D. Harland Exhibition Endowment Fund, Katherine Murphy Riley Special Exhibition Endowment Fund, Margaretta Taylor Exhibition Fund, RJR Nabisco Exhibition Endowment Fund and USI Insurance Services. Located in the heart of Atlanta, the High Museum of Art connects with audiences from across the Southeast and around the world through its distinguished collection, dynamic schedule of special exhibitions and engaging community-focused programs. Housed within facilities designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architects Richard Meier and Renzo Piano, the High features a collection of more than 20,000 works of art, including an extensive anthology of 19th- and 20th-century American fine and decorative arts; major holdings of photography and folk and self-taught work, especially that of artists from the American South. For more information about the High, visit www.high.org.