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The 13 Most Amazing Outsider Artists of All Time

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Folk art, Outsider art, Art Brut — no matter what you call it, the work of self-taught artists has been fascinating doctors, curators, and other artists for the past hundred years. Inspired by a vision, these artists are often driven by obsession to realize their ideas on found materials using makeshift methods that might seem illogical but end up leading to profound works of art. From the former slave Bill Traylor and orphaned Adolf Wölfli to the gifted savant George Widener and Baptist reverend Howard Finster, we’ve assembled the best of the bunch. Click through our gallery of images and let us know if there is anyone you would add to the mix.

A self-taught artist who was born into slavery in 1854, Bill Traylor was discovered making drawings of people on the street and memories of plantation life in Montgomery, Alabama in the 1940s.

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Comments (61)

These are fascinating works. I’m going to do a little digging and find out more about these artists.

[...] Los 13 artistas más sorprendentes de todos los tiempos (según Flavorwire) Hello there! If you are new here, you might want to subscribe to the RSS feed for updates on this topic. [...]

According to Lonnie Holley, art comes from the heart. I love this quote and I agree. Like, to be a good writer, write about what you love.

[...] and Baptist reverend Howard Finster, we’ve assembled the best of the bunch. See full story at Flavorwire.comBy Creative Growth on 08/24/2011Shop • DonateVisit StoreMake a DonationCG Daily CURRENT [...]

I would add William Edmondson, Leroy Person, James Hampton, and Ferdinand Cooper (at the High Museum). Excellent call on Judith Scott and Tichy; they are of the first rank.

Most of todays art is democratic and ordinary. Great art needs a big dose of anarchy – needs to be close to fucking up. It is only out there on the edge that truly great happens. Art education has a lot to answer for.

Willem Van Genk, Carlo Zinelli, Charles Dellschau, Grant Wallace, William Blaney, Jesse Howard, so many many others ….

Only two women in the batch?

“The most important outsider
discovery of the past decade”. We recently had the amazing good fortune of discovering the actual identity and touching history of this extraordinary Missouri artist. Stay tuned.

Check out the web site…. electricpencildrawings.com

Congratulations to Flavor Pill for opening the door a bit more.

The artist of whom I speak was James Edward Deeds Jr., “THE ELECTRIC PENCIL”

I appreciated seeing some artists I know and learning about some I don’t. I want to recommend The Ames Gallery in Berkeley, CA (Run by Bonnie Grossman) as a wonderful resource for many outsider artists and folk artists. One of my favorites not on your list is the late Barry Simons. Grossman is a wealth of information about Simons and many other artists.

MIA: Daniel Johnston

Interesting to see so many old friends in the comment section. ANY list of art (even one with a label which is an inaccurate misnomer) that omits William Edmondson is lacking.

Jim Linderman
Dull Tool Dim Bulb

But where are Bessie Harvey and Sister Gertrude Morgan?

I nominate Jeff McKissack, the visionary behind the Orange Show in Houston, TX!

Lee Godie of Chicago certainly should be on any “Best of” outsider artist list.

There’s a fascinating documentary about James Castle (#6 on the list) called James Castle: Portrait of an Artist. Pretty interesting even if you’re not into/familiar with outsider art.

Incredible artists all around! You did forget Prophet Royal Robertson though… a true spaceman visionary

Nice to see Madge Gill here. It’s hard to stop at just 13, but Roy Ferdinand needs to be counted on future lists.

Without William Edmondson, the list has a huge hole and you must start over. Willem van Genk must be there. CAA Dellschau should be there. On the list above — I absolutely LOVE the work of Tichy, but I would would give pause to him being in your list if some of the others are not listed.

Mark Hogancamp, as seen in MARWENCOL.

There’s currently a Eugene von Bruenchenhein exhibit at the Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore.

I can’t believe you did not include at least ONE African American self taught artist!?

I saw a show of Martin Ramirez (1895-1963)some years ago in New York. Self-taught, he was discovered in a psychiatric institute in the late 40′s or early 50′s, I think. The moniker “outsider artist” has with it a rather pedantic connotation to it–if that’s the right use of “pedantic.” There’s sort of an implication that an “artist” is on the “inside,” and that anyone not approved via the formalist structure of professors, gallerists, curators or collectors, is by definition “outside,” an almost “honorary” artist. Still, the artists mentioned here, and throughout these comments are stupendous. Thanks for posting!

Great compilation. It makes official art sucks

These are a fine selection of the hundreds (if not thousands) of self-trained artists, some discovered in mental hospitals, others living lonely lives as “eccentrics”, and some taken care of by their families. The relatively few who come to be “discovered” (many of those whose workrs are shown above) have had their work collected in galleries and museums. Sadly, the American Museum of Folk Art in NYC, where a splendid collection of Henry Darger’s works is kept, and a major retrospective of Martin Ramirez’s works was exhibited a couple of years ago, is now threatened with having to vacate its handsome building (on the same block as the MoMA) and close down for lack of funding. This is really regrettable, when in Paris (and other French regions) museums of “Art Naif” and several others in Europe are supported by the national state and/or city.
Vera Zolberg

Thanks for the shout out Heidi. The James Castle film was partially intended to be a primer on how to look at and think about this art.

I just visited Marfa, Texas. Although Judd was an art insider, it was hard not to think of his commitment to his work and the work of his friends as similar to artists who build cities out of bottle caps. It was refreshing to see a secular manifestation of megalomania. I recommend visiting the chinati and judd foundation to anyone interested in “Visionary” art.

There are more great women. Look at the French artist they did a movie about, and at the women in Cavin Morris gallery.

Bessie Harvey in particular.

You can all look at my friend Kevin Sampson while you are at it.

Geneviève Seillé “cultivates bemusement” according to an excellent article by Roger Cardinal. Her work astonishes me.
Paul Laffoley makes me feel like I’m being told the punchline of a really good joke, but I don’t know what the joke is.
FlavorPill – thank you for using the internet so well! This is your best idea exposure yet!

dont forget Henri Rousseau, as he was a self-taught painter.

Purvis Young.

Calvin and Rubby Black – the Possum trot environment, Royal Robertson, Dilmus Hall, Peter Charlie Basharo, Rev. McKendree Robbins Long, ACM, Aloise Corbaz.

“I can’t believe you did not include at least ONE African American self taught artist!?”

@gary moore: didn’t you notice artist #1, Bill Traylor?

“A self-taught artist who was born into slavery in 1854, Bill Traylor was discovered making drawings of people on the street and memories of plantation life in Montgomery, Alabama in the 1940s.”

What a pitiful example of Howard Finster’s work to choose!
Ann O.

Congratulations!!!! There are a couple of non-Americans in there!!!! Unbelievable. Next thing you know you’ll be able to find Europe and Asia on a map. Keep up the good work!

beej- thanks for the tip. von Breunchenhein is one of my favorite artists, up there with the Impressionist/Dada/Surrealist-era greats. There’s a book on him I’d love to find.

Really? Because I think some of these are kind of creepy. And some of them a lot like the doodles I did in my notebook as a teenager. Some of them, yes, they are extremely interesting. I like the book with the ink made of soot and saliva.

early Grandma Moses, before she went commercial, may not be hip but is wonderful, nonetheless.

In my opinion, no list could be complete without Thornton Dial. How about Charlie Willetto, Nek Chand, Carlo Zinelli and Frank Jones? Isn’t it great that the list goes on and on!

Did we forget Joseph Cornell?

I agree a little with Louisa – a couple of these did resemble doodles I did in junior high. Because I didn’t do thousands of them is why I’m not considered an outsider artist… maybe after I die.

There’s also Simon Rodia of the Watts Tower in L.A. and that French postman.

But thanks for this list, guys. Definitely some artists I want to look in to…

[...] The work from these so-called “outsider artists” is amazing. [...]

And how many more amazing “outsider” artists are there that “insiders” have yet to discover. Is an artist only legit once they’ve been discovered? As someone who works in an expressive arts program for a very diverse population, I do not love the “outsider” term…to me, they’re just artists, and there are people that cross categories…

Plus, if Judith Scott began exploring art within a very structured but supportive art program (i.e., Creative Growth, a program I greatly admire)…she is not really in fact self-taught, but rather, just an artist who also has disabilities – not really that different from Stevie Wonder. I in fact work with people who have been to art school and also have schizophrenia or deafness. Ahhhh…the problems with labels.

I agree that the selection of artists is decent – but am wringing my hands at the paucity of women on the list – and while I’m in crabbytown, I’ll say the examples are spotty, at best. Yoakum was a genius – I look at originals at the Roger Brown Study Collection (Chicago) often – the choice here isn’t brilliant.
@Gary: Yoakum was black/Indian.
I’d add Hazel Kinney and Willie Jinks, but that’s just me.

** JAMES ‘SON’ THOMAS FROM LELAND, MISSISSIPPI

I cant believe they dont have PURVIS YOUNG….he was an artistic genius!!!

i saw a Purvis Young recently that made me actually cry….wayy too deep!!!

Great choice! I totally agree about Traylor, Darger, Ramirez, Widener, Finster etc, the point is, if you include Wolfli you might want to check more European artists and in particular Augustine Lesage, Aloise Corbaz, Oswald Tschirtner, August Walla.
Thank you, bye
Nicola

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