Folk Art Outsider and Self Taught Art
FOLK ART STYLE
Folk art is a genre of art that shares the creator’s traditions, offering not just an artistic display but an opportunity to learn about a culture. Antique, new and vintage folk art typically reflects a heritage or location. It can include utilitarian objects and handmade art as diverse as weather vanes, duck decoys, portraiture and paintings, carnival art and quilts.
Quilts are a quintessential part of American folk art but their roots are international, with quilting dating back to Ancient Egypt. The practice spread to Europe and was especially prominent in the Middle Ages, with one of the oldest surviving examples being the Tristan quilt made in Sicily in the 14th century. They were made as bedcovers and clothing, including as a layer for knights to wear beneath their armor. Native American folk art includes functional objects reflecting their heritage, such as baskets, textiles and wooden pieces.
Elsewhere, the vast range of work associated with Mexican folk art includes masks made by Mexican craftspeople for traditional celebrations and ceremonial dances. Mexican masks are part of the country’s folk-art traditions that go back thousands of years and play a role in festivals and theater.
Works in the folk art tradition are valuable because of the skills involved, like weaving, hand-carving wood and even stonework. Many folk artists are self-taught, while some train as apprentices within their community. By using available materials and taking a personal approach to their creations, artists ensure each piece is unique and conveys a story.
During the Great Depression, artistic materials in America were hard to come by, so artisans used discarded wood from cigar boxes and shipping crates to make highly stylized, notched pieces — most often picture frames and boxes — that are today sought after by collectors. This folk art style is called tramp art and was popular from roughly 1870 until the 1940s.
Folk art brings vibrant culture and traditions into your home. Browse an extensive collection of antique, new and vintage folk art on 1stDibs.
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Style: Folk Art
Period: 1990s
Lego Scrooge McDuck
Located in Pasadena, CA
The photos of Mr. Lego Scrooge McDuck speak for themselves. This figure is unique and would be the focus of any room. All spaces need a bit of laughter and whimsy and this guy would ...
Category
1990s American Folk Art Outsider and Self Taught Art
Materials
Plastic
Paul Walker - Outsider Art Checkerboard
Located in Savannah, GA
Paul Edward Walker
(American, b.1949)
Checkerboard
oil on board
signed “Art by Paul Walker”, “Nov. 97, Savannah, GA”
26 by 20 inches; ¾ inches deep
Paul Walker is a Savannah, G...
Category
1990s American Folk Art Outsider and Self Taught Art
Materials
Wood, Paint
Paul Walker - Outsider Art Box and Fan
Located in Savannah, GA
Paul Edward Walker
(American, b.1949)
Box and fan
signed on side P.E.W. ‘94
box: 8 ¾ inches wide by 5 ½ inches deep by 2 ½ inches tall
Paul Walker is a Savannah, Georgia outside...
Category
1990s American Folk Art Outsider and Self Taught Art
Materials
Wood, Paint, Paper
Matched Pair of Cat Carvings by Linvel Barker, Kentucky
By Linvel Barker
Located in Kilmarnock, VA
Linvel Barker was a retired metalworker turned folk artist. He didn't start carving until 1984 and he would rough out the shapes on a band saw and his wife wo...
Category
1990s American Folk Art Outsider and Self Taught Art
Materials
Wood
Related Items
Mid 20th Century African Folk-Art Carving of a Woman
Located in Cheltenham, GB
Beautiful African rustic folk carving of a woman, probably mid-century, hardwood, the nose has been rubbed many times for good luck!
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19th Century POW Shoe Snuff Box
Located in London, GB
19th Century POW shoe snuff box
We are proud to offer a 19th century POW carved wooden snuff box, The toenails have likely been replaced over time. T...
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Mid-Century Prison Art Box from Cigarette Packs
Located in Forney, TX
A rare vintage prison art box, mid-20th century, colorful round folk art box with removable lid, handmade from a large tin can and cigarette packs.
...
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Very Large Example of a Tonala Cat, Artist Signed
Located in Pasadena, CA
This is an exceptionally large Tonala figure of a cat. The piece is artist signed and most probably dates to the 1960s-1980s. The cat is beautifully mold...
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c1900 Folk Art Tramp Art Box
Located in Downham Market, GB
An antique tramp art box.
A beautiful & early piece of tramp art, intricately layered in the traditional manner with notch carved wooden strips & finished with a pressed brass lion r...
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Vintage Mexican Religious Folk Art Ex-voto Retablo Arcangel San Miguel
Located in Forney, TX
A framed vintage oil on tin ex-voto retablo Arcangel San Miguel, Spanish Colonial Mexican religious folk art.
Primitive hand-painted tin panel, marked Guanajuato, Mexico, dated 19??, offered to Arcangel San Miguel (Archangel Michael), with hand-written inscription in lower margin. Professionally framed and matted.
An ex-voto is a votive offering to a saint or a divinity, given in fulfillment of a vow (hence the Latin term, short for ex voto suscepto, "from the vow made") or in gratitude or devotion. Usually praying for a family member or close friend, with pictorial depicting that persons situation. The term ex-voto is usually restricted to Christian examples.
Ex-votos are placed in a church or chapel where the worshiper seeks grace or wishes to give thanks. The destinations of pilgrimages often include shrines with the walls decorated with ex-votos.
Ex-votos can take a wide variety of forms. They are not only intended for the helping figure, but also as a testimony to later visitors of the received help. As such they may include texts explaining a miracle attributed to the helper, or symbols such as a painted or modeled reproduction of a miraculously healed body part, or a directly related item such as a crutch given by a person formerly lame. There are places where a very old tradition of depositing ex-votos existed, such as Abydos in ancient Egypt.
Ex-voto paintings, especially in the Latin world, there is a tradition of votive paintings, typically depicting a dangerous incident which the offeror survived. The votive paintings of Mexico...
Category
Mid-20th Century Mexican Folk Art Outsider and Self Taught Art
Materials
Tin
American Folk Art Cowboy and Horse Whirligig
Located in Santa Monica, CA
Tall one of a kind cowboy and horse spinning whirligig American Folk Art piece. Most likely from a larger folk art environment. Sheet steel constructi...
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1940s American Vintage Folk Art Outsider and Self Taught Art
Materials
Iron, Sheet Metal
Mid 20th Century Folk Art Cowboy Rodeo Whirligig
Located in Nantucket, MA
Mid 20th century Folk Art cowboy Rodeo Whirligig, circa 1940s to 50s, comprising four carved and painted cowboys mounted on horseback riding in a circle a...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Folk Art Outsider and Self Taught Art
Materials
Copper
20th Century Outsider Art Portrait of an American Soldier
Located in Van Nuys, CA
A small oil painting on canvas. It is a naive portrait of an American soldier in uniform. It appears to be framed in a handmade oak frame along with ...
Category
1950s American Vintage Folk Art Outsider and Self Taught Art
Materials
Canvas, Oak
"The Bird Cane", Unusual Early 20th Century Walking Cane
Located in London, GB
Early 20th century walking cane
We are proud to offer a highly unusual walking cane made from aged bamboo. This unique and artistic object has naturally taken the form of a bird. ...
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1920s British Vintage Folk Art Outsider and Self Taught Art
Materials
Bamboo
Carved Big Cat Figures - Set of 3
Located in Bradenton, FL
A set of three carved big cats. A tiger, a snow leopard, and a serval are carved in wood and vibrantly decorated in yellow, orange, and red, with black spots and lines. Each cat is p...
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Late 20th Century Folk Art Outsider and Self Taught Art
Materials
Wood
Early 19th Century Measuring Stick
Located in London, GB
Early 19th century measuring stick
One of the most unusual and tactile objects we have uncovered for our store. A hand carved early 19th century four...
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Early 19th Century Tibetan Antique Folk Art Outsider and Self Taught Art
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Previously Available Items
Howard Finster Original One of a Kind Artwork Painted on Retro Coca Cola Cooler
By Howard Finster
Located in Savannah, GA
Vintage Retro Nostalgia Coke Cooler designed in 1992 by Paul Flum Ideas Inc. and painted with acrylic and permanent marker by folk artist Howard Finster...
Category
1990s American Folk Art Outsider and Self Taught Art
Materials
Metal
H 35 in W 22 in D 12 in
Whimsical Wood Sculpture by Noted Artist Fred Schumm
By Fred Schumm
Located in Palm Springs, CA
A whimsical wood figure of a nude woman by the noted NJ artist Fred Schumm. It is signed and dated on the bottom Schumm 95. The base has been re-painted and has some losses to the corners.
A brief statement by the artist from 2007 follows;
Fred Schumm does not view life through rose-colored glasses.
He doesn't have to.
Schumm, Rowan University's artist-in-residence, is a former U.S. Marine who lived through some of the most horrific battles of World War II. He served at Peleliu two months of carnage on a tiny Pacific atoll where 12,000 perished - and then four long months on the bloodied isle of Okinawa.
Since then, Schumm, 82, has mostly tried to see life's beauty. It's sort of like how sunlight, warm but ordinary to the naked eye, is refracted into myriad, impossibly beautiful combinations of color when viewed through a kaleidoscope.
And, like sunlight, he finds art everywhere.
"Inspiration is all around but mostly I'm inspired by the ancients," Schumm said recently. "I love Prehistoric African carvings, the works of ancient Greeks, Japanese and Chinese. I especially love Eskimo work."
The celebrated sculptor loves Eskimo work so much he once hitchhiked from his home state of Colorado to Alaska just to see native carvings.
"I wanted to see the TOTEM poles," he said. "The Alaskan Indians were fantastic artists."
Schumm, artist-in-residence since 2003, works with various hardwoods, stone, even metals. A studio in which he works at Westby Hall has pieces in various stages of completion, from an eight-foot-tall, stainless steel sculpture he calls "Aviary" to a solid, six-foot log of black locust...
Category
1990s American Folk Art Outsider and Self Taught Art
Folk Art outsider and self taught art for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a broad range of unique folk art outsider and self taught art for sale on 1stDibs. Many of these items were first offered in the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artisans have continued to produce works inspired by this style. If you’re looking to add vintage outsider and self taught art created in this style to your space, the works available on 1stDibs include folk art, decorative objects, wall decorations and other home furnishings, frequently crafted with wood, metal and other materials. If you’re shopping for used Folk Art outsider and self taught art made in a specific country, there are North America, United States, and Europe pieces for sale on 1stDibs. While there are many designers and brands associated with original outsider and self taught art, popular names associated with this style include Captain George Grant, Gadu, Linvel Barker, and Peter Hunt. It’s true that these talented designers have at times inspired knockoffs, but our experienced specialists have partnered with only top vetted sellers to offer authentic pieces that come with a buyer protection guarantee. Prices for outsider and self taught art differ depending upon multiple factors, including designer, materials, construction methods, condition and provenance. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $150 and tops out at $45,000 while the average work can sell for $1,400.
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