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

by Elsa Longhauser, Harald Szeemann, Lee Kogan

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.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction

256 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1998

Reviews

[Samuel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I would have liked this book better if I'd seen the exhibition it accompanied. The selection of artists and works is impeccable. However, many of the reproduced artworks are shown in small, inline photos, and a huge number of the works referenced in the essays aren't reproduced at all, which makes the essays harder to follow unless the reader wants to constantly take a break to look up the mentioned works. Additionally, while some essays include a sort of general biography, others don't, which is frustrating unless you a) know all of the artists' details well enough not to need them (which I can do for some, but not all of the included artists), or b) want to look them all up.

I'm keeping this on my reference shelf, and I have some new artists to explore as a result of reading it. But I think it doesn't really stand alone all that well when divorced from the exhibition itself.

[Nativeabuse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would have liked more pictures and examples for each artist, but This was exactly what I like to see in folk art books. A short essay on the life story of the person who made the art and some examples of it without a whole lot of art criticism jargon to fluff up the pages.

Good overall book, quite enjoyable read.

[Gregg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Henry Darger, Grandma Moses and more!