#Self-Taught Artists

Women Artists

10 Facts to Know About Dorothea Tanning

Dorothea Tanning (1910-2012) was a visionary whose work transcended the conventional boundaries of Surrealism and abstraction. In this “top...

Errika Gerakiti 11 October 2024

Symbolism

Léon Spilliaert: Symbolism and Longing in His Art

A literary fan of Edgar Allan Poe with a Symbolist approach to painting, Léon Spilliaert thrives in the disenchantment, emotion, and decadence that...

Yasmin Ozkan 3 October 2024

Contemporary Art

13 Black Folk Artists from the American South

The thirteen self-taught artists below, from Bill Traylor to Nellie Mae Rowe, Thornton Dial to Mary T. Smith, among others, created some of the most...

Adam Oestreich 17 September 2024

Animals

The Fantastic Jungles of Henri Rousseau

Henri Rousseau was a French artist who painted in a Naïve or Primitive manner. He was also known as Le Douanier (the customs officer), which was a...

Zuzanna Stańska 4 September 2024

Hermenegildo Bustos. Hermenegildo Bustos, Self-portrait, 1891, Museo Nacional de Arte, Mexico City, Mexico. Detail. Artist Stories

Hermenegildo Bustos: Self-Taught Painter of the People

Hermenegildo Bustos was one of Mexico’s most renowned painters of the 19th century. Despite the lack of Academic training, his portraits stood out...

Jimena Escoto 2 September 2024

Women Artists

Polina Raiko, The Self-Taught Folk Artist Who Turned Tragedy to Triumph

In 1998, for the first time ever, Polina Raiko (1928-2004), a 69-year-old woman who had spent almost her entire life as a wife, mother, and farmer,...

Adam Oestreich 2 September 2024

Artist Stories

Morris Hirshfield and His Bizarre Animals

It is a common opinion that if you would like to start a career in arts, you should begin as early as possible. But talent knows no boundaries, and...

Zuzanna Stańska 2 September 2024

Anna Boberg, Fishing Harbour with Sunlit Mountains. Study from North Norway, Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, Sweden. Women Artists

Anna Boberg – Self-Taught Painter of Lofoten Landscapes

Anna Boberg was a multidisciplinary self-taught artist active in Stockholm and Paris. She is best known for her arctic landscapes from Lofoten in...

Europeana 2 September 2024

Artist Stories

Let’s Ride a Tiger! Escape into the Tropics with Henri Rousseau

Let’s ride a tiger! Definitely not! We should never try to ride a tiger, and Rousseau does not suggest it either! It would be horrible (especially...

Sarah Mills 2 September 2024

Artist Stories

The Story of Nikifor – A Self-Taught Painter from the Carpathian Mountains

“Epifaniusz Drowniak” is now a household name in Polish naïve art and, arguably, across Europe alongside painters such as Henri...

Katarzyna Waszak 1 August 2024

Jacqueline Marval, Candeur d'enfant Women Artists

Jacqueline Marval: The Female Fauvist You’ve Never Heard Of

She was known as one of the greatest painters of her day and was a central figure of the Parisian art scene at the turn of the 20th century. She...

Natalia Iacobelli 20 June 2024

Painting

Winston Churchill’s Unexpected Hobby

At the age of 40, Winston Churchill faced a very difficult time in his life. After the failed attack at Gallipoli he had ordered during World War I,...

Javier Abel Miguel 13 June 2024