Annie Lee, 1935-2014, The Good Life

Lot description

Annie Lee 1935-2014 The Good Life 2001 acrylic on canvas 48 x 26 inches signed Commissioned for Sears, Roebuck, and Co., in celebration of Black History Month, and included in the 2001 Black History commemorative calendar. (see below for more) Annie Frances Lee was born on March 3, 1935, in Gadsden, Alabama. She was raised by a single parent, and grew up in Chicago, Illinois. She attended Wendell Phillips High School and earned a scholarship to attend Northwestern University, but married instead and raised a family. It was not until age forty that Lee decided to pursue a career as an artist; she enrolled in Loop Junior College and completed her undergraduate work at Mundelein College in Chicago. After eight years of night classes while working at Northwestern Railroad as a clerk in the engineering department, Lee earned her M.A. degree in interdisciplinary arts education from Loyola University. Lee’s railroad job inspired one of her most popular paintings, Blue Monday, which depicts a woman struggling to pull herself out of bed on a Monday morning. Her trademarks are the animated emotion of the personalities in the artwork and the faces which are painted without features. At age fifty, Lee had her first gallery show; she allowed prints to be made of four of her original paintings. Using her unique designs, Lee also developed figurines, high fashion dolls, decorative housewares, and kitchen tiles. After showing her work in other galleries for a number of years, Lee opened Annie Lee and Friends Gallery 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. She passed away on November 14, 2014, at the age of 79. From Transformco.com: Sears Salutes Black History Month With a Tribute to African-American Culture Feb 6, 2001 As part of its nationwide salute to Black History Month, Sears, Roebuck and Co. (NYSE: S) will celebrate the month of February by hosting a variety of events that honor the achievements and contributions of African-Americans. Taking part in this year's festivities will be internationally acclaimed artist Annie Lee, who has produced "The Good Life", an original piece of art created exclusively for Sears, for incorporation into a 2001 commemorative art calendar. (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20010206/CGTU089 ) The Black History Month commemorative art calendar is one of the numerous programs established by Sears to underscore its commitment to provide goods and services to an increasingly diverse population. Sears has a long-standing commitment to African-Americans through its support of national and local events, community programs and partnerships with minority vendors and organizations. During the month of February, Sears will host a series of associate and customer programs focused on the evolutions of influence of African-Americans in the 20th century. Customers can receive a complimentary copy of the Black History Month commemorative art calendar and valuable merchandise coupons by visiting a participating Sears store nationwide. "Through the Black History Month commemorative art calendar, our corporate programs and consumer events, Sears will celebrate the accomplishments of African-Americans and recognize their rich culture and traditions during the month of February and throughout the year," said Gilbert Davila, vice president, Sears Multicultural and Relationship Marketing. "Our entire society has been elevated by the contributions of African-Americans and our 300,000 Sears associates nationwide are committed to building and maintaining meaningful relationships within the communities we serve." The Black History Month commemorative art calendar which recognizes the accomplishments of African-Americans in a colorful celebration of black family traditions will be distributed along with valuable merchandise coupons to customers free-of-charge at participating Sears stores nationwide while supplies last.