❥ a popularity contest

this week in outsider art features the best posts of 2024, some of my favorite holiday artworks, photos from the "faces in the crowd" exhibit plus we've donated over $100

Dec 29, 2024

THIS WEEK IN OUTSIDER ART

for daily postings of outsider art visit folkartwork.art or follow on instagram

» THE BEST OF 2024 «

**UNKNOWN ARTIST/MAKER** Mosaic Beads and Necklace (1st Century CE; Eastern Mediterranean) // Glass; each bead approx. 1.2 × 1.5 cm, 2 to 3 grams via *Getty Museum — The 6th most popular post of 2024*

**ARTIST UNKNOWN** Turtle Bench (1945; Pennsylvania) // Wood, hand paint; 17 inches x 10 inches x 5 inches via *Labor and Glean — The 8th most popular post of 2024*

**FELIPE BENITO ARCHULETA** Large Pig with Udders (1977) // Carved wood, putty, rope and paint; 21 in. high, 43 in. wide, 16 in. deep via *Christies*

**JAMES 'SON FORD' THOMAS** Skull (1988) // Unfired clay, human teeth, rocks, aluminum foil; 6.75 x 4.5 x 7 inches via *Souls Grown Deep Foundation — The 10th most popular post of 2024*

**ARTIST UNKNOWN** Gravestone of Lucy Ulmer (c. 1796; Southern Maine) // Featuring rustic winged death head resembling a spider (photo credit Ron Romano) — *The 9th most popular post of 2024*

**ALBERTUS PICTOR** Death playing chess (1480-1490) // Monumental painting in Täby Church located near Stockholm, Sweden; inside the ribbon, now faded, once read “Jak spelar tik matt” translated to “I checkmate thee” — *The 4th most popular post of 2024*

**ELIJAH PIERCE** Untitled (Frog Sculpture) (1979) // Carved and painted wood; 6.25 in x 8 in x 3.25 in via *The Keen Collection — The 5th most popular post of 2024*

» HAPPY HOLIDAYS! «

**ANONYMOUS** Animal (1960s; Mexico) // Ceramic and paint via *Museum of International Folk Art*

**MORRIS HIRSHFIELD** Girl with Pigeons (1942) // Oil on canvas; 30 x 40 1/8" (76.1 x 101.7 cm) via *The Museum of Modern Art*

**GRANDMA MOSES** Christmas (1958) // Oil and tempera on pressed wood; 16 1⁄8 × 20 1⁄8 in. (41 × 51.1 cm) via *Smithsonian American Art Museum*

**BILL TRAYLOR** Running Deer (1939-1942) // Tempera and graphite on repurposed 'Mounds' advertisement; 7 x 12 ¾ in. via a private collection sold through *Christies*

**NELLIE MAE ROWE** When I Was a Little girl Looking for Santa Claus (1982) // Crayon, colored pencil, and pencil on paper; 19 x 23 1/2 inches via *High Museum of Art*

**CLEMENTINE HUNTER** Christmas Tree (date unknown) via *clementinehunterartist.com*

**WILLIAM HAWKINS** Untitled (Nativity with Collage #3) (1989) // Enamel and collage on plywood; 48 x 48 in. via *Ricco/Maresca Gallery*

**FRANCES CALDWELL** Christmas Morning (1952) // Watercolor on paper via *Intuit Art Center*

**SAVA SEKULIĆ** Untitled (Pig Riding Duck) (1980) // Oil on board; 28 × 39 2/5 in | 71 × 100 cm via *Gallery of Everything*

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FEATURED ARTIST OF THE WEEK

**NIL & KARIN ROMANO** Circus On Shrooms (2019) // Acrylic and oil pastels on paper; 50 x 70 cm courtesy *the artists*

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» free preview of this week’s B-B-Bonus This Week in Outsider Art newsletter «

WATCHING AND READING

Here are a few things I’ve been watching this past week:

Here are a few things I’ve been reading this past week:

OH WORD?

» Faces In The Crowd «

What a year it was 2024! We pulled off the first ever FolkArtwork exhibit right here in my hometown of Des Moines, Iowa and it couldn’t have gone any better. I want to once again thank everyone who came out to our opening reception and to those who supported “Faces In The Crowd” throughout all of November.

I have to also personally thank my photography student Emma for coming out to the show and capturing the magical night with these great photos.

The one above here of course, of my son undoubtedly pointing out “that lady lost her eyeball” to my mother is one of my favorite. My children, like most people, were particularly fond of Sarah’s artwork.

There are still works from “Faces In The Crowd” available for purchase and please enjoy these great photos taken by my very talented photography student.

Thanks again to everyone for all the support in 2024!

see more photos

SHOUT OUT

Shout out to everyone who has purchased a “Los Gatitos” postcard created by my 7-year-old Milo. Thanks to you, we’ve so donated over $100 to a Palestinian boy named Ahmed and his family living in a displacement camp in Gaza. There are still some postcards left which proceeds from every sale going directly to Ahmed and his family!

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FROM THE COLLECTIVE

JAMES ASH always wanted to be an art teacher. For various reasons, including addiction, his mental health, and living without internet in the Michigan woods, he never became an art teacher. So he taught himself how to make art. In 2021, James Ash passed away at the age of seventy-one. His daughter, Anna had the task of cleaning out his cabin and deciding what to do with the two dozen large, colorful, surreal, and enigmatic paintings. The goal has always been to share them with as many people as possible.

available for purchase

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

» MEET THE COLLECTOR SERIES PART SIXTY-NINE — Adam Oestreich, Iowa «

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