Rosebee (1932-2016) Folk Art Oil on Canvas “The Canoe Race” , signed and dated 1988 lower left
7 ½ in. x 9 ½ in.

Rosebee was raised in New Bedfod, Massachusetts, just as the great whaling era of the city was ending. Her grandfather had been a whaler, and Rosebee’s childhood was colored by the yarns he told of sails, whale and mermaid tails.
Rosebee was compelled at a late age to create a visual record of her happy childhood memories and her grandfather’s stories. She frequently incorporated an American flag in her work as well as quilt patterns, the influence of her grandmother, a quilter.
Although entirely self-taught, she became known as “America’s Premier Nautical and Patriotic Folk Artist”. Her paintings are in the permanent collection of a number of prominent art museums including The Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts and the Springfield Museum of Fine Art.