Self Taught Artists of the 20th Century: An American Anthology

Rating:
Summary: unique creativity
Review: This is a huge catalog for an exhibition that documented the work of 32 artists spanning the 20th century, and which was presented in 6 museums in Philadelphia, Atlanta, Forth Worth, Texas; Columbus, Ohio; Rochester, N.Y.; and New York City.
Self-taught artists gained tremendous interest in the 1990's, with many curators starting to include pieces into their collections and exhibit schedules.
"Outsider art", as this is also known as, also contributes to the multiculturism of America, as so many of its creators are from diverse backgrounds.

The earliest artist profiled, who lived from 1836 to 1908, is Henry Church, Jr., whose "Self-Portrait with Five Muses" is so wonderful. Among the others are Scottish-born John Kane (1860-1934) with his solemn figuratives, Edgar Alexander McKillop (1879-1950) with his whimsical sculptures in black walnut wood, the great Russian-born Morris Hirshfield (1872-1946) with his unusual female figures and lionine cats, the immensely popular Grandma Moses (1860-1961), the incredible wood carvings of Elijah Pierce (1892-1984), intricate mixed media on paper from Mexican-born Martin Ramirez (1895-1963), whose "Untitled" frontispiece for this book is terrific, the mystical mixed media work of Sister Gertrude Morgan (1900-1980), and the youngest artist included is Ken Grimes (b. 1947) who works with white lettering/designs on a black background.

Perhaps my favorites are Horace Pippin (1888-1946), who is surely one of the greatest of African-American artists, and Joseph Yoakum (1890-1972) with his graceful, delicate drawings.
Each artist represented has an extensive biography, with examples of their work. This is a weighty volume with glossy pages and 140 full-color plates. As the inside cover states: "This is a significant appraisal of the contribution self-taught artists have made to American culture and life".