Biography
Annette Rawlings was born in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1943. She was abandoned by her mother at birth and was raised by her grandparents until age three, when her mother reclaimed her. Rawlings's mother and father then moved her to Miami. Due to the neglect of her parents she was kidnapped at the age of 12. Rawlings was forced into an arranged marriage at 16 and moved to Germany. In Heidelberg, Germany, she studied art restoration and painting. At 17 she was homeless and working her way around Italy studying art. Back in the states by age 22, she was working towards her BA in Fine Art at the University of Miami. This did not stop her time of traveling. She spent time in Mexico studying pottery and fiber arts, and later spent a year living in the forests of Central America.
Rawlings’ work was highly influenced by the art and culture of 1960s Miami. She embraced the pop-art and minimalist movement of the time with her vibrant colors and child-like, figurative forms. Rawlings 's work has been exhibited all over the world from the Miami Art Museum to the Louvre Museum in Paris. She currently lives and works in Miami, Florida.