Minnie Adkins


Minnie Adkins is an American folk artist.

Life and work

Minnie Adkins is a Kentucky folk artist known for her painted wood carvings of animals – roosters, red foxes, bears, possums, and horses. She was born, 1934, in Isonville, a small town in rural Eastern Kentucky. While a young child, she was attracted to whittling wooden sticks. Her father gave her a pocketknife and she soon took up a hobby practiced mostly by boys and men. In 1968, Adkins, her husband Garland, and their son moved, like many families in Appalachia, to Ohio in search of jobs. Homesick, she continued to carve animals and sold her work at local outdoor markets. Returning to Kentucky in 1983, she began selling her carvings at a craft gallery in Morehead, Kentucky where it was noticed by folk art dealer Larry Hackley who introduced the art work to collectors and galleries outside Kentucky. In 1985, several of her works were included in the collection of the Kentucky Folk Art Center,
and is now in many permanent private and public collections.
Atkins is featured in a short documentary film
and many publications
In the late 1980s, Minnie and Garland founded A Day in the Country, a folk art fair that today features works by over 50 folk artists from Kentucky and nine other states. She continues to carve her iconic figures and collaborate on children's books
with Kentucky musician and author Mike Norris.

Books