Career
Her work is often categorized as outsider art, visionary art, or self-taught art Born in Dallas, Georgia, Harvey was the seventh of thirteen children born to Homer and Rosie Mae White. At the age of fourteen she married Charles Harvey, from whom she separated in her early twenties and relocated independently to Alcoa, Tennessee.
A deeply religious person, Harvey"s faith and her interest in nature were primary sources for her work.
As a child, she recalls making "something out of nothing," often creating her own toys and dolls. In 1977, Harvey began working at Blount Memorial Hospital.
After exhibiting her artwork at the hospital, her work drew attention and gallery representation. After that time, she increasingly focused on her artwork until her death in 1994.
Harvey"s work has been included in over 50 exhibitions, including a posthumous inclusion in the 1995 Whitney Biennial.
Her work Cross Bearers was subsequently purchased by the Whitney Museum for its permanent collection. She was also the subject of a major retrospective in 1997 at the Tennessee Museum of Artist Harvey has been cited as an influence by Alison Saar, and a street in Alcoa has been named after her.