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
#Self-Taught Artists
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Masterpiece Story: The Football Players by Henri Rousseau
Welcome to the bizarre world of Henri Rousseau (1844–1910), the quintessential naïve artist, and meet his masterpiece depicting oneiric, striped...
Anastasia Manioudaki 21 May 2023
