❥ world's largest totem pole

this week in outsider art features another beauty by june gutman, a foul clown game board, and some prison art plus a visit to ed galloway's totem pole park

Aug 25, 2024

THIS WEEK IN OUTSIDER ART

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

**JUNE GUTMAN** Psychiatry's Sectioning (n.d.) // Colored Pencil, graphite, pen on paper; 8.5" × 5.5" via *Kishka Gallery & Library*

**ARTIST UNKNOWN** Shoot Out (Early 20th Century) // Paint on wood and linen; 12 x 11 1/2 in. via *American Folk Art Museum* (Collection of Doranna and Bruce Wendel)

**ANDRÉ ROBILLARD** UFOs come from the planet Jupiter and rush towards the earth (1983) // Drawing; 32.5 x 50 cm via *Musée Lam*

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**ARTIST UNRECORDED (New Mexico State Penitentiary, Santa Fe)** Paper Folded Heart (1980s) // Plastic coated gum wrappers via *Museum of International Folk Art*

**PEARLIE POSEY** "Exercisers" Quilt (1981) // Cotton and polyester; running stitch; 6 feet 7 1/2 inches × 64 3/4 inches (201.9 × 164.5 cm) via *Philadelphia Museum of Art*

**GREGORY VAN MAANEN** Untitled (11/7/2016) // Acrylic on canvas; 35 x 27 inches (88.9 x 68.6 cm) via *Cavin-Morris Gallery*

**ARTIST UNKNOWN** Bag (c. 1830-1860) // Glass and linen via *The Met Museum*

**VICTORIA MAMNGUQSUALUK** Caribou Spirit Woman (circa 1997) // Wool duffel, felt, and cotton embroidery floss; 114 x 125cm via *Art Gallery of Guelph*

**ROB OBER** Faculty Meeting (2023) // Acrylic on canvas; 96 x 83 in via *SHRINE*

**JAMES "SON FORD" THOMAS** Untitled (1980s) // Unfired clay, paint, human hair; 6.5 x 4 x 4 inches via *Souls Grown Deep Foundation*

**HOWARD FINSTER** A House Divided Against I.T.S. Self Cannot Stand (c. 1977) // Enamel on wood in original frame; 29 1/2 x 48 inches via *Fleisher/Ollman Gallery*

**EDDIE ARNING** Untitled (1968-70) // Cray-pas on paper; 21 × 31 in | 53.3 × 78.7 cm via *Ricco/Maresca Gallery*

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FEATURED ARTIST OF THE WEEK

**RENEESHA MCCOY** Cleared (2024) // Mixed media on canvas; 8 inches x 8 inches -- *available for purchase via the artist in the FolkArtwork Collective shop*

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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?

» Ed Galloway’s Totem Pole Park «

**ED GALLOWAY** The World’s Largest Totem Pole + Totem Pole Park (Main totem pole: 1937-1948) // Hand painted on 100 tons of sand and rock, 28 tons of cement, and six tons of steel; 90 feet tall x 18 feet in diameter x 54 feet base — located near Foyli, Oklahoma

The story of Ed Galloway, is quite remarkable.

Born in 1880, he was a U.S. Army veteran who taught woodworking at an orphanage in Oklahoma for over two decades. Upon his retirement, he bought a farm near Foyli, Oklahoma and proceeded to build was is now known as the world's largest totem pole. The entire totem pole is decorated with approximately 200 bas relief images, which include brightly colored Native American portraits, symbols, and animal figures.

After the main totem pole was completed around 1948, he continued his practice of building totem poles, 11 in total, around his property almost every day until his death in 1962.

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A post shared by @folkartwork

"All my life, I did the best I knew. I built these things by the side of the road to be a friend to you." — Ed Galloway

When he wasn't building totems, he was making wooden fiddles from the wood his former students would send him from around the world. His wife quickly tired of wood shavings and dust in the house, so he built a concrete "fiddle house" which currently houses over 300 of his hand crafted fiddles, wooden chairs, and bas-relief portraits.

I saw the world’s largest totem pole brought to you by Ed Galloway (1880-1962) and all I got were these splendid videos that don’t quite do this magical art environment justice. Check out FolkArtwork.art for more photos.

SHOUT OUT

**Noemisa Batista dos Santos,** Teacher with students (1998; Brazil) // Ceramic, slips, stain; 12 1/8 × 7 7/8 × 6 1/8 in. (30.8 × 20 × 15.5 cm) via *Museum of International Folk Art*

Shout out to all the teachers out there. Hope you had a good summer, best of luck this school year! Only 180 school days until next summer!!!

FROM THE COLLECTIVE

**RAF (Possibly R.A. Flagg)** Folk Art Cow With Bell on Wheels (1994) // Carved wood and paint, rope tail and bell; 5 inches tall x 7.5 inches wide x 1.75 inches depth — *available for purchase in the FolkArtwork Collective shop*

This cow with bell on wheels is a charming example of contemporary folk art toys. The signature “RAF 1994” suggests it was crafted by an individual artist rather than mass-produced, adding to the uniqueness.

available for purchase

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

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

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