The Discovery of the Art of the Insane

by John M. MacGregor

This pioneering work, the first history of the art of the insane, scrutinizes changes in attitudes toward the art of the mentally ill from a time when it was either ignored or ridiculed, through the era when major figures in the art world discovered the extraordinary power of visual statements by psychotic artists such as Adolf Wlfli and Richard Dadd. John MacGregor draws on his dual training in art history and in psychiatry and psychoanalysis to describe not only this evolution in attitudes but also the significant influence of the art of the mentally ill on the development of modern art as a whole. His detailed narrative, with its strangely beautiful illustrations, introduces us to a fascinating group of people that includes the psychotic artists, both trained and untrained, and the psychiatrists, psychoanalysts, critics, and art historians who encountered their work.

Genres: Art, Psychology, Nonfiction

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1989

Reviews

[Janice · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is fascinating, and has some of the most original, authentic art I've ever seen.

[Durakov · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely the most in-depth look at the art of psychiatric patients I've read in the decade or so I've been interested in the topic. To be clear, this book is really about how and why "insane art" became an object of interest at different points in history from Romanticism until the 1970s and it focuses very heavily on Europe and especially England.

I disagreed pretty strongly with some of MacGregor's interpretations (he still writes within the weird idea that there is such a thing as "primitive art" as a generic category), but this thing was so thorough and dense, it's essential for anyone interested in the topic. It's not particularly exciting for the most part and the need to constantly reference images as you read (and how much this slows down the reading process) will be familiar for readers of art history. The writing often takes on the tone and style of encyclopedic entries. I would recommend tackling chapters individually as they come up in research rather than read cover to cover as I did.

[Kelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had to read this for work and I feel very lucky that I'm tasked with reading such stimulating material. This book was published in 1978 but still offers some great insight for those interested in "Outsider" art. I especially liked the side-by-side graphics of how a schizophrenic patient vs. a manic patient drew their houses. Morbidly fascinating.

[Bird · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is it. Others have written on the subject and it's kind of like he ate them. It's all here, well sourced.