20th Century American Folk Self Taught And Outsider Art

Today the work of so-called "outsider" artists is receiving unprecedented attention. This major critical appraisal of America's 20th-century self-taught artists coincides with a major 1998 traveling exhibition organized by the Museum of American Folk Art in New York. While some of these artists have received critical recognition, others remain virtually unknown, following their muse regardless. 150 color images.

The biographical section of this resource records 1000 US artists. Other sections contain lists of museums with folk, self-taught and outsider art in their permanent collections; galleries; organisations; publications; exhibitions; educational opportunities; and an annotated bibliography.

Much has changed in the world of self-taught art since the millennium. Many of the recognized "masters" have died and new artists have emerged. Many galleries have closed but few new ones have opened, as artists and dealers increasingly sell through websites and social media. The growth and popularity of auction houses have altered the relationship between artists and collectors. In its third edition, this book provides updated information on artists, galleries, museums, auctions, organizations and publications for both experienced and aspiring collectors of self-taught, outsider and folk art. Gallery and museum entries are organized geographically and alphabetically by state and city.

Over 3,650 books and exhibition catalogs, periodical and newspaper articles, and films and videos about self-taught artists and their art.

For a full list of entries, contributors, and more, visit the Encyclopedia of American Folk Art web site. This is the first comprehensive, scholarly study of a most fascinating aspect of American history and culture. Generously illustrated with both black and white and full-color photos, this A-Z encyclopedia covers every aspect of American folk art, encompassing not only painting, but also sculpture, basketry, ceramics, quilts, furniture, toys, beadwork, and more, including both famous and lesser-known genres. Containing more than 600 articles, this unique reference considers individual artists, schools, artistic, ethnic, and religious traditions, and heroes who have inspired folk art. An incomparable resource for general readers, students, and specialists, it will become essential for anyone researching American art, culture, and social history.

Self-taught art (or outsider art or folk art) is made up of paintings, drawings, sculptures, assemblages, outdoor constructions and other items created by people with little or no formal training who produce (or at least began by producing) art without regard to mainstream recognition or the marketplace. There are now several periodicals, numerous yearly auctions, and dozens of museums and galleries devoted to the field. This analysis of the art form in 20th century America begins by explaining the emergence of self-taught art, and introducing the reader to key aspects. The second chapter studies trends, by gender, race and region, and examines such issues as education, employment and the circumstances under which artists became active. The main body of the work consists of 1,319 biographies of artists--dates, location, origins, education, employment, style, media, themes and unusual characteristics. Another section deals with 44 categories of self-taught art including media (collage, painting, pottery, relief carving, sculpture, etc.); styles (abstract, rudimentary, surrealistic...); and themes (such as animals, death, humor, politics, religion, vehicles and words).

Folk art emerged in twentieth-century Nova Scotia not as an accident of history, but in tandem with cultural policy developments that shaped art institutions across the province between 1967 and 1997. For Folk’s Sake charts how woodcarvings and paintings by well-known and obscure self-taught makers - and their connection to handwork, local history, and place - fed the public’s nostalgia for a simpler past. The folk artists examined here range from the well-known self-taught painter Maud Lewis to the relatively anonymous woodcarvers Charles Atkinson, Ralph Boutilier, Collins Eisenhauer, and Clarence Mooers. These artists are connected by the ways in which their work fascinated those active in the contemporary Canadian art world at a time when modernism – and the art market that once sustained it – had reached a crisis. As folk art entered the public collection of the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia and the private collections of professors at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, it evolved under the direction of collectors and curators who sought it out according to a particular modernist aesthetic language. Morton engages national and transnational developments that helped to shape ideas about folk art to show how a conceptual category took material form. Generously illustrated, For Folk’s Sake interrogates the emotive pull of folk art and reconstructs the relationships that emerged between relatively impoverished self-taught artists, a new brand of middle-class collector, and academically trained professors and curators in Nova Scotia’s most important art institutions.