Lynn Green Root

Lynn Green Root (March 18, 1954 – March 6, 2001) was an American portrait painter, muralist, and illustrator from the state of Mississippi.

Root was born 18 March 1954, in Jackson, Mississippi.^[1] Her mother, Myra Hamilton Green, was a painter.^[2] She received a bachelor's degree from the University of Mississippi, then pursued a master of fine arts degree at the University of New Orleans.^[1] In addition to studying at universities, she studied under abstract expressionist Fred Mitchell.^[1]

Root was a portrait painter and a muralist, painting illustrations and narrative landscapes. Her signature style elements can be described as kinetic lines and bold, assertive colors.^[3] It's hard to classify her work into one category but if one was to you could say her work was neoexpressionistic, neoprimitive, or even magical realism. She did a portrait of Thalia Mara; it was installed in Thalia Mara Hall.^[4] Root was also an illustrator of books and CDs.^[4]

Root's first major exhibition was the 1975 Mississippi Arts Festival.^[1] Root's work was exhibited at the Contemporary Arts Center, the University of New Orleans, and the University of Alabama.^[5] With her mother, Root exhibited her paintings at the Municipal Art Gallery in Jackson, Mississippi in 1999. The exhibition was called Myra Green and Lynn Green Root: A Mother Daughter Exhibition.^[2]

Root died on March 6, 2001, in Jackson, Mississippi, at age 46.^[5]

• Black, Patti Carr (2008). Breathing Art: The Lives and Art of Myra Hamilton Green and Lynn Green Root. Jackson, Mississippi: Mississippi Museum of Art. ISBN 9781887422161. OCLC 909896738.