Antique Wooden Folk Art Objects
Ordinary Beauty: How 'Folk Art' Challenged the Art World to Get Real
By Hunter Oatman-Stanford — When folk art came into vogue in the early 20th century, the notion that wealthy art collectors would want to surround themselves with objects made by poor people seemed rather curious. After all, as art had become an increasingly acceptable topic for criticism and academic study during the 18th and 19th centuries, the world of fine art was defined precisely in opposition to that made by and for the unwashed masses. However, a few educated and cosmopolitan individuals saw value in so-called...
Homespun Beauty: Jim Linderman on Folk Art’s Authentic Appeal
By Maribeth Keane and Bonnie Monte — My interest in 20th-century American self-taught art came about after I had gone through a million other things—from stamps to bootleg records to books about who killed JFK. I had been at CBS News in New York City for about 8 or 10 years, and I was kind of burned out from working too hard and drinking too much. So I just stopped doing both for a while. It was 1981, and the art scene was exploding. The most entertaining thing to do in New York at the time was to go gallery hopping....