Carrie Ann Baade
An American painter who masterfully collages art history into surreal, feminist allegories, creating lush and unsettling visual autobiographies.
Born 1974 (age 52)·American painter·Birthday: February 18·Generation X
Biography
Carrie Ann Baade's canvases are dense, dreamlike theaters where the ghosts of art history perform new, deeply personal dramas. Based in Tallahassee and a professor at Florida State University, Baade works like a visual archaeologist, excavating figures and landscapes from Renaissance and Baroque masterpieces. She then reassembles these fragments through meticulous collage and painting, weaving them into surreal narratives that explore identity, mythology, and the feminine psyche. Her work is both a dialogue with the past and a bold declaration of self, using the formal language of Old Masters to articulate contemporary feminist concerns and autobiographical reflections. The resulting images are opulent and unsettling, populated by hybrid creatures and layered symbolism, inviting viewers into a world where the sacred meets the subconscious, and history is raw material for self-invention.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Carrie was born in 1974, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Carrie Was Born
The biggest hits of 1974
#1 Movie
The Towering Inferno
Best Picture
The Godfather Part II
#1 TV Show
All in the Family
Carrie's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1974Born
Nixon resigns the presidency
Gas: $0.53/galHome: $22,600Min wage: $2.00/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"The Way We Were" — Barbra StreisandBest Picture: The Godfather Part II
1979Started school
Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $37,900Min wage: $2.90/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"My Sharona" — The KnackBest Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
1987Became a teenager
Black Monday stock market crash
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $72,400Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Walk Like an Egyptian" — The BanglesBest Picture: The Last Emperor
1990Could drive
Hubble Space Telescope launched; Germany reunifies
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.80/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Hold On" — Wilson PhillipsBest Picture: Dances with Wolves
1992Could vote
LA riots after Rodney King verdict
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $84,300Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"End of the Road" — Boyz II MenBest Picture: Unforgiven
1995Turned 21
Oklahoma City bombing; Windows 95 released
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $96,500Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Gangsta's Paradise" — CoolioBest Picture: Braveheart
2004Turned 30
Indian Ocean tsunami kills over 230,000
Gas: $1.88/galHome: $157,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Yeah!" — UsherBest Picture: Million Dollar Baby
2014Turned 40
Russia annexes Crimea; Ebola outbreak in West Africa
Gas: $3.37/galHome: $160,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Happy" — Pharrell WilliamsBest Picture: Birdman
2024Turned 50
AI reshapes industries; Paris Olympics
Gas: $3.31/galHome: $372,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"Espresso" — Sabrina CarpenterBest Picture: Anora
2026Age 52 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Her work is held in public collections including the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art and the Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville.
- She is a tenured professor in the Department of Art at Florida State University.
- Was awarded a Florida Division of Cultural Affairs Individual Artist Fellowship.
- Has exhibited her paintings extensively in solo and group shows across the United States and internationally.
Did You Know?
She describes her process as 'surrealist collage painting', first creating digital collages from art historical sources.
She earned her MFA from the University of Delaware and studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Baade has cited her childhood fascination with the paintings in the Philadelphia Museum of Art as a foundational influence.
She has given lectures on her work and methodology at institutions like the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum.
“I am taking the history of art and cutting it up to tell my own story.”
