#Self-Taught Artists

Mrs. Anna Coleman Ladd and Mr Caudron. Mrs. A. Coleman Ladd working on portrait mask. 1918. Photograph. Library of Congress. Washington, D.C. USA. Women Artists

Anna Coleman Ladd: The Sculptor Who Healed the Faces of War

When World War I left thousands of soldiers with faces they could no longer recognize, one sculptor decided to help them face the world again. Anna...

Wen Gu 10 November 2025

"3. Marian Henel, Big Butts (excerpt), 1981, 240x480 cm, photo by A. Podstawka.jpg" Bizarre

Marian Henel—Tapestries and Madness

Marian Henel’s tapestries are huge. The largest one measures over 6 m in length and 3 m in width (19 ft. 8 in. by 9 ft. 10 in.). Created in the...

Zuzanna Stańska 10 November 2025

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 24 September 2025

Women Artists

Suzanne Valadon and Her Self-Portraits

Suzanne Valadon, the French artist of the 19th century, was an absolute master of self-portraits. She fashioned her own look in so many different...

Aniela Rybak-Vaganay 23 September 2025

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 15 September 2025

Horace Pippin: Horace Pippin, The Park Bench, Artist Stories

How Art Saved His Life: Story of Horace Pippin

It took Horace Pippin 43 years to complete his first oil painting. Why so long? Because poverty, hard physical work, war, and disabilities got in his...

Magda Michalska 28 July 2025

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 19 June 2025

Artist Stories

A Creative Lunatic: Adolf Wölfli in 5 Artworks

Adolf Wölfli is now known alongside the label “Outsider Art” or Art Brut, a term Jean Dubuffet coined in 1945 to bring attention to...

Katerina Papouliou 25 April 2025

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 19 March 2025

Henri Rousseau, The Sleeping Gypsy, 1897, Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA Artist Stories

Henri Rousseau in 10 Paintings: Like Nothing You’ve Seen Before

Henri Rousseau is one of the greatest self-taught artists in art history, known for his vivid depictions of subtropical landscapes. Discover the...

Marta Wiktoria Bryll 23 December 2024

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

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