Fannie Lou Spelce (1908–1998)

Fannie Lou Spelce is one of the most renowned figures in folk art in the United States. Though she began painting later in life after she had left Arkansas, much of her artwork vividly captures her years in Arkansas and family experiences, preserving her deep connection to the state.

Born Fannie Lou Bennett on June 19, 1908, to farmers Florence and Hillary Bennett in tiny Dyer (Crawford County), she was the first in her family to continue education beyond high school. She and her four siblings spent time attending church and county fairs, and her memories of Clarksville (Johnson County) and Dyer would later become subjects in many of her notable paintings.

After high school, she attended Sparks nursing school in Fort Smith (Sebastian County) to become a registered nurse. Seeking adventure, she moved to New York City, where she honed her nursing skills before returning to Arkansas.

She married Neal Spelce Sr., and they had two sons, Neal Leslie Spelce Jr. and William Bennett Spelce. Following the couple’s divorce, Spelce primarily raised the boys herself. She worked in hospitals in Arkansas, Oklahoma, California, and Texas.

A significant period of her life was spent in Clarksville, where her sons attended grade school and high school. During that time, she worked for Dr. Rex Siegel and also at the Clarksville Municipal Hospital.

Spelce later relocated to Texas, where she remained for the rest of her life. Her nursing career reached its peak in Houston, where she became the nurse in charge of the operating room at Methodist Hospital. She worked alongside pioneering heart surgeons Michael DeBakey and Denton Cooley during the early years of open-heart surgery.

In the 1950s, Spelce moved to Austin to be closer to her sons, who were attending the University of Texas. She became the school nurse at St. Stephen’s Episcopal School.

During one summer break, Spelce discovered her artistic talent when she attended an oil painting class at the Laguna Gloria art museum. During her first class, she initially painted only a small section of the canvas. Embarrassed to start over when corrected, she completed the painting from memory at home. Her teacher, struck by her raw talent, declared her a “primitive” artist. With characteristic wit, Spelce responded, “I may be old, but I’m not primitive!” Her teacher advised her to paint what she wanted and never take another lesson—advice that launched her celebrated second career.

Spelce became known as a memory painter in the folk art tradition, relying on recollections rather than direct observation. Her works depicted quilting bees, family prayers, county fairs, the Clarksville area, and other vivid scenes from her past. Her best-known painting, The Quilting Bee, took a year to complete, as she meticulously painted details with a magnifying glass and a single-hair brush.

Her sons decided to market her art, introducing her work to the New York art world. She exhibited in over eighteen shows, including solo exhibitions at prestigious New York City venues such as the Museum of American Folk Art, the Frank Miele Gallery, and the Kennedy Galleries, as well as the Blanton Museum in Austin and the Arkansas Arts Center (now the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts) in Little Rock (Pulaski County). Over her more than twenty-year career, Spelce was dubbed the “Grandma Moses of Texas.”

Spelce’s art is discussed in numerous books and periodicals, including the Museum of American Folk Art Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century American Folk Art and Artists, Artists in Aprons: Folk Art by American Women, Texas Folk Art: One Hundred Fifty Years of the Southwestern Tradition, and Religious Folk Art in America—Reflections of Faith. Her work was also featured in major periodicals, including the Smithsonian and the Clarion. Celebrated works like Arkansas Peach Season, The Quilting Bee, and Camp Meeting at Maple Shade have been widely exhibited.

Her remaining extensive collection is held within the family and managed by her two grandchildren, Cile Spelce Elley and Allen Bennett Spelce, in Austin.

Spelce died on April 11, 1998, at her home in Austin.

For additional information:
Morris, Katsy Dobbs. “Fannie Lou Spelce.” The Journal (Johnson County Historical Society) 50 (Fall/Winter 2024): 7–9.

Spelce, Neal. “Memories of Mother: Through the Eyes of a Memory Painter.” https://www.nealspelce.com/post/memories-of-mother-through-the-eyes-of-a-memory-painter (accessed June 10, 2025).

Thomas, Robert Mcg., Jr. “Fannie Spelce, Cardiac Nurse and a Folk Artist, Dies at 89.” New York Times, April 19, 1998. https://www.nytimes.com/1998/04/19/us/fannie-spelce-cardiac-nurse-and-a-folk-artist-dies-at-89.html (accessed June 10, 2025).

Katsy Morris
Johnson County Historical Society