Naïve art is usually defined as

visual art The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile ar ...

that is created by a person who lacks the formal education and training that a professional artist undergoes (in anatomy,

art history Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today, ...

, technique, perspective, ways of seeing). When this aesthetic is emulated by a trained artist, the result is sometimes called ''

primitivism Primitivism is a mode of aesthetic idealization that either emulates or aspires to recreate a "primitive" experience. It is also defined as a philosophical doctrine that considers "primitive" peoples as nobler than civilized peoples and was an o ...

'', ''pseudo-naïve art'', or ''faux naïve art''. Unlike folk art, naïve art does not necessarily derive from a distinct popular cultural context or tradition; indeed, at least in the advanced economies and since the Printing Revolution, awareness of the local

fine art In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwor ...

tradition has been inescapable, as it diffused through

popular print Popular prints is a term for printed images of generally low artistic quality which were sold cheaply in Europe and later the New World from the 15th to 18th centuries, often with text as well as images. They were some of the earliest examples of ...

s and other media. Naïve artists are aware of "fine art" conventions such as graphical perspective and compositional conventions, but are unable to fully use them, or choose not to. By contrast, outsider art (''art brut'') denotes works from a similar context but which have only minimal contact with the mainstream art world. Naïve art is recognized, and often imitated, for its childlike simplicity and frankness. Paintings of this kind typically have a flat rendering style with a rudimentary expression of perspective. One particularly influential painter of "naïve art" was Henri Rousseau (1844–1910), a French Post-Impressionist who was discovered by

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th century, he is ...

. The definition of the term, and its "borders" with neighbouring terms such as folk art and outsider art, has been a matter of some controversy. Naïve art is a term usually used for the forms of fine art, such as paintings and sculptures, but made by a self-taught artist, while objects with a practical use come under folk art. But this distinction has been disputed. Another term that may be used, especially of paintings and architecture, is "provincial", essentially used for work by artists who had received some conventional training, but whose work unintentionally falls short of metropolitan or court standards.

Characteristics

Naïve art is often seen as outsider art that is by someone without formal (or little) training or degree. While this was true before the twentieth century, there are now academies for naïve art. Naïve art is now a fully recognized art genre, represented in art galleries worldwide. The characteristics of naïve art have an awkward relationship to the formal qualities of painting, especially not respecting the three rules of the perspective (such as defined by the ''Progressive Painters of the Renaissance''): # Decrease of the size of objects proportionally with distance, # Muting of colors with distance, # Decrease of the precision of details with distance, The results are: # Effects of perspective geometrically erroneous (awkward aspect of the works, children's drawings look, or medieval painting look, but the comparison stops there) # Strong use of pattern, unrefined color on all the plans of the composition, without enfeeblement in the background, # An equal accuracy brought to details, including those of the background which should be shaded off. Simplicity rather than subtlety are all supposed markers of naïve art. It has, however, become such a popular and recognizable style that many examples could be called ''pseudo-naïve''. Whereas naïve art ideally describes the work of an artist who did not receive formal education in an

art school An art school is an educational institution with a primary focus on the visual arts, including fine art – especially illustration, painting, photography, sculpture, and graphic design. Art schools can offer elementary, secondary, post-sec ...

academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...

, for example Henri Rousseau or Alfred Wallis, 'pseudo naïve' or 'faux naïve' art describes the work of an artist working in a more imitative or self-conscious mode and whose work can be seen as more imitative than original. Strict naïvety is unlikely to be found in contemporary artists, given the expansion of

Autodidactism Autodidacticism (also autodidactism) or self-education (also self-learning and self-teaching) is education without the guidance of masters (such as teachers and professors) or institutions (such as schools). Generally, autodidacts are individu ...

as a form of education in modern times. Naïve categorizations are not always welcome by living artists, but this is likely to change as dignifying signals are known. Museums devoted to naïve art now exist in

Kecskemét Kecskemét ( , sk, Kečkemét) is a city with county rights central part Hungary. It is the eighth-largest city in the country, and the county seat of Bács-Kiskun. Kecskemét lies halfway between the capital Budapest and the country's thir ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croa ...

; Kovačica,

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hung ...

; Riga, Latvia; Jaen, Spain;

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of the same name, Brazil's List of Brazilian states by population, third-most populous state, and the List of largest citi ...

Brasil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area an ...

; Vicq

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

and

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

. Examples of English-speaking living artists who acknowledge their naïve style are: Gary Bunt, Lyle Carbajal, Gabe Langholtz, Gigi Mills, Barbara Olsen, Paine Proffitt, and Alain Thomas. "Primitive art" is another term often applied to art by those without formal training, but is historically more often applied to work from certain cultures that have been judged socially or technologically "primitive" by Western academia, such as Native American, subsaharan African or Pacific Island art (see Tribal art). This is distinguished from the self-conscious, "primitive" inspired movement

. Another term related to (but not completely synonymous with) naïve art is folk art. There also exist the terms "naïvism" and "primitivism" which are usually applied to professional painters working in the style of naïve art (like

Paul Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (, ; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French Post-Impressionist artist. Unappreciated until after his death, Gauguin is now recognized for his experimental use of colour and Synthetist style that were distinct fr ...

, Mikhail Larionov,

Paul Klee Paul Klee (; 18 December 1879 – 29 June 1940) was a Swiss-born German artist. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. Klee was a natural draftsman who experimented wi ...

Term

In 1870, in his poem ''Au Cabaret-Vert, 5 heures du soir'',

Arthur Rimbaud Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud (, ; 20 October 1854 – 10 November 1891) was a French poet known for his transgressive and surreal themes and for his influence on modern literature and arts, prefiguring surrealism. Born in Charleville, he sta ...

uses the word ''naïf'' to designate “clumsy” pictorial representations: ''“I contemplated the very naive subjects of the tapestry”'', which is perhaps the case of the origin of the ''naïf'' employment by Guillaume Apollinaire some time later.

Movements

Nobody knows exactly when the first naive artists appeared on the scene, as from the very first manifestations of art right up to the days of the "Modern Classic", naive artists quite unconsciously bequeathed us unmistakable signs of their creative activity. At all events, naive art can be regarded as having occupied an "official" position in the annals of twentieth-century art since – at the very latest – the publication of the '' Der Blaue Reiter'', an almanac in 1912.

Wassily Kandinsky Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky (; rus, Василий Васильевич Кандинский, Vasiliy Vasilyevich Kandinskiy, vɐˈsʲilʲɪj vɐˈsʲilʲjɪvʲɪtɕ kɐnʲˈdʲinskʲɪj; – 13 December 1944) was a Russian painter a ...

and Franz Marc, who brought out the almanac, presented 6 reproductions of paintings by ''le Douanier' Rousseau (Henri Rousseau)'', comparing them with other pictorial examples. However, most experts agree that the year that naive art was "discovered" was 1885, when the painter

Paul Signac Paul Victor Jules Signac ( , ; 11 November 1863 – 15 August 1935) was a French Neo-Impressionist painter who, working with Georges Seurat, helped develop the Pointillist style. Biography Paul Signac was born in Paris on 11 November 1863. ...

became aware of the talents of Henri Rousseau and set about organizing exhibitions of his work in a number of prestigious galleries.

The Sacred Heart painters

German art collector and critic Wilhelm Uhde is known as the principal organiser of the first Naïve Art exhibition, which took place in Paris in 1928. The participants were Henri Rousseau, André Bauchant, Camille Bombois,

Séraphine Louis Séraphine Louis, known as Séraphine de Senlis (Séraphine of Senlis; 3 September 1864 – 11 December 1942), was a French painter in the naïve style. Self-taught, she was inspired by her religious faith and by stained-glass church windows an ...

and

Louis Vivin Louis Vivin (born 28 July 1861, Hadol, France; died 28 May 1936 in Paris) was a French primitivist painter. Biography Vivin was born in Hadol, France. He showed great enthusiasm for painting as a child, but his career took him in a completely d ...

, known collectively as the Sacred Heart painters.

Earth Group

The Earth Group (''Grupa Zemlja'') were Croatian artists,

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

s and intellectuals active in

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Sl ...

from 1929 to 1935. The group was Marxist in orientation and was partly modelled on "

Neue Sachlichkeit The New Objectivity (in german: Neue Sachlichkeit) was a movement in German art that arose during the 1920s as a reaction against expressionism. The term was coined by Gustav Friedrich Hartlaub, the director of the ''Kunsthalle'' in Mannheim, w ...

", leading to more stylized forms, and the emergence of Naive painting. The group included the painters Krsto Hegedušić, Edo Kovačević,

Omer Mujadžić Omer may refer to: __NOTOC__ * Omer (unit), an ancient unit of measure used in the era of the ancient Temple in Jerusalem * The Counting of the Omer (''sefirat ha'omer''), a 49 day period in the Jewish calendar * Omer (Book of Mormon), a Jaredite k ...

Kamilo Ružička Kamilo Beach (literally, ''the twisting'' or ''swirling currents''Clark, John R. K. (1985), ''Beaches of the Big Island'', University of Hawaii Press, , p. 69 in Hawaiian), is a beach located on the southeast coast of the island of Hawaii. It is ...

, Ivan Tabaković, and

Oton Postružnik Oton Postružnik (1900–1978) was a Croatian artist, painter, graphic artist, and ceramist. He was one of the founding members of the Earth Group artist collective in Zagreb from 1929 to 1933. He studied in Zagreb, Prague and Paris, and was a pr ...

, the sculptors Antun Augustinčić, Frano Kršinić, and the architect

Drago Ibler Drago Ibler (14 August 1894 – 12 September 1964) was a Croatian architect and pedagogue. His style can be described as pure simplicity and functional architecture. Ibler was born in Zagreb. He gained his diploma in architecture at the ...

. The Earth group searched for answers to social issues. Their program emphasised the importance of independent creative expression, and opposed the uncritical copying of foreign styles. Rather than producing art for art's sake, they felt it ought to reflect the reality of life and the needs of the modern community. Activities at the group's exhibitions were increasingly provocative to the government of the day, and in 1935 the group was banned.

Hlebine School

A term applied to Croatian naive painters working in or around the village of Hlebine, near the Hungarian border, from about 1930. At this time, according to the ''World Encyclopedia of Naive Art'' (1984), the village amounted to little more than 'a few muddy winding streets and one-storey houses', but it produced such a remarkable crop of artists that it became virtually synonymous with Yugoslav naive painting. Hlebine is a small picturesque municipality in the North of Croatia that in 1920s became a setting against which a group of self-taught peasants began to develop a unique and somewhat revolutionary style of painting. This was instigated by leading intellectuals of the time such as the poet

Antun Gustav Matoš Antun Gustav Matoš (; 13 June 1873 – 17 March 1914) was a Croatian poet, short story writer, journalist, essayist and travelogue writer. He is considered the champion of Croatian modernist literature, opening Croatia to the currents of E ...

and the biggest name in Croatian literature, Miroslav Krleža, who called for an individual national artistic style that would be independent from Western influences. These ideas were picked up by a celebrated artist from Hlebine – Krsto Hegedušić and he went on to found the Hlebine School of Art in 1930 in search of national “rural artistic expression”. Ivan Generalić was the first master of the Hlebine School, and the first to develop a distinctive personal style, achieving a high standard in his art. After the Second World War, the next generation of Hlebine painters tended to focus more on stylized depictions of country life taken from imagination. Generalić continued to be the dominant figure, and encouraged younger artists, including his son Josip Generalić. The Hlebine school became a worldwide phenomenon with the 1952 Venice Biennale and exhibitions in Brazil and Brussels. Some of the best known naive artists are

Dragan Gaži Dragan Gaži (1930-1983) was a Croatian painter. His works can be found at the Croatian Museum of Naïve Art in Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, ...

, Ivan Generalić, Josip Generalić, Krsto Hegedušić,

Mijo Kovačić Mijo Kovačić (born 5 August 1935 in Gornja Šuma at Molve) is a Croatian painter and naïve artist. His works can be found at the Croatian Museum of Naïve Art in Zagreb. Life Kovačić was born in Gornja Šuma, Molve, in the Podravina ...

, Ivan Lacković-Croata,

Franjo Mraz Franjo Mraz (April 4, 1910 in Hlebine – October 26, 1981 in Brežice) was a notable Croatian artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage i ...

, Ivan Večenaj and Mirko Virius.

Artists

18th century

* Oluf Braren (1787–1839) *

Justus DaLee Justus DaLee (October 1, 1793 – January 5, 1878) was an American folk artist born in Pittstown, New York to James Waterman DaLee and his wife, Anstis Kinnicutt. He married Mary Fowler October 13, 1816 at White Creek, New York, and they had ten ...

(1793–1878) *

Edward Hicks Edward Hicks (April 4, 1780 – August 23, 1849) was an American folk painter and distinguished religious minister of the Society of Friends (aka "Quakers"). He became a Quaker icon because of his paintings. Biography Early life Edwar ...

(1780–1849) * Joshua Johnson (1763–1824)

19th century

* James Bard (1815–1897) * Ferdinand Cheval, known as 'le facteur Cheval' (1836–1924) * Denys Corbet (1826–1910) *

Olof Krans Olof Krans (November 2, 1838 - January 4, 1916) was a Swedish-American folk artist. A self-taught artist, he painted in a style referred to as primitive or Naïve art. Background Olof Ersson was born in a small hamlet of Sälja in Tärnsj� ...

(1838–1916) * Cándido López (1840–1902) * Niko Pirosmani (1862–1918) Georgia *

Peter Rindisbacher Peter Rindisbacher (12 April 1806 – 12 or 13 August 1834) was a Swiss artist who specialized in watercolors and illustrations dealing with First Nation tribes of mid-Western Canada and the United States, mostly depictions of the Anishinaabe, ...

(1806–1834) USA, born in Switzerland * Henri Rousseau (1844–1910) France

20th century

* Gesner Abelard (born 1922) * Ellinor Aiki (1893–1969) * Andreas Alariesto (1900–1989) Finland *

Alyona Azernaya Alyona Azernaya (in russian: Алёна Азёрная), born March 9, 1966, Ekaterinburg, Russia is a contemporary Russian naïve painter. Her name has been transliterated from Russian as : Alyona Azernaya, Alena Azernay, Aliona Azernaia, Elen ...

(born 1966) Russia * Jan Bacur (born 1937) Serbia * Jan Balet (1913–2009) *

Nina Barka Nina Barka (5 October 1908 – 1986), real name Marie Smirsky, was a prominent naive artist. She was born in Odessa, Russian Empire (now Ukraine) of Ukrainian parents, but moved to France, where she became a French citizen. Her work had many Russia ...

(Marie Smirsky) (1908–1986) * Ilija Bašičević (1895–1972) * André Bauchant (1873–1958) *

Kateryna Bilokur Kateryna Vasylivna Bilokur ( uk, Катерина Василівна Білокур; – 9 June 1961) was a Ukrainian folk artist born in the Poltava Governorate. Her birth date is unknown but 7 December is used as her official birthday. After a ...

(1900–1961) Ukraine * Janko Brašić (1906–1994) * Camille Bombois (1883–1970) * Frédéric Bruly Bouabré (born 1923) * Eugen Buktenica (1914–1997) Croatia * Sam Byrne (1883–1978) Australia *

Charles Callins Charles Callins was an Australian naïve painter from Queensland. He started painting in his sixties after retiring from a lifetime working as a compositor in the printing rooms of various newspapers. He is best known for his paintings of the ...

(1887–1982) * Zuzana Chalupová (1925–2001) Kovačica (Vojvodina) Serbia *

Paulina Constancia Paulina Constancia (born Maria Paulina Constancia Cornejo Lee) is a Filipino-Canadian artist known for her work on canvas, textiles, and found materials, sometimes incorporating stitching. She is associated with the Paulina Constancia Museum ...

(born 1970) Philippines * Henry Darger (1892–1973) * Michel Delacroix (born 1933) France *

Préfète Duffaut Préfète Duffaut (1 January 1923 – 6 October 2012) was a Haitian painter. Biography Born in Cyvadier, Sud-Est, near the seaport of Jacmel, where he lived and worked. The painter Pauleus Vital (1918–1984) was Duffaut's half-brother, ...

(born 1923) * Emerik Feješ (1904–1969) Croatia * Howard Finster (1916–2001) *

Robert-Émile Fortin Robert-Émile Fortin (December 19, 1945 – July 8, 2004) was a Quebec painter. He was born in Hull, Quebec, the son of Émile Fortin and Aline Boisvert. His mother died before he was two years old and Fortin was raised at the Sainte-Thér ...

(1945–2004) Canada * Lucy Fradkin (born 1953) United States *

George Fredericks George Fredericks (born 1929) is an English naïve artist. He has exhibited his paintings since 1957, and developed an early following by British and international artists, including Peter Blake and Larry Bell.Andera, Margaret, and Lisa Stone ...

(born 1929) * José Rodríguez Fuster (born 1946) Cuba *

(1930–1983) Croatia * Ivan Generalić (1914–1992) Hlebine, Croatia * Josip Generalić (1935–2004) Hlebine, Croatia * Mokarrameh Ghanbari (1928–2005) Iran *

Petronėlė Gerlikienė Petronėlė Gerlikienė, née Kromelyte (June 19, 1905, Chicago, United States – March 14, 1979, Vilnius, Lithuania), was a Lithuanian Lithuanian may refer to: * Lithuanians * Lithuanian language * The country of Lithuania * Grand Duchy of L ...

(1905–1979) * Petar Grgec (1933–2006) Croatia *

Theora Hamblett Theora Hamblett (January 15, 1895 – March 6, 1977) was an American painter, one of the first Mississippi folk artists to achieve national prominence. Hamblett's paintings can be divided into three categories: memory paintings, dream paintings ...

(1895–1977) * James Hampton (1909–1964), United States * Krsto Hegedušić (1901–1975) Croatia * Jan Husarik (born 1942) Padina, Serbia * Eremenko Irina (1919–2007) Russia *

Mary Jewels Mary Jewels (5 February 1886–1977) was a British painter, born in Newlyn in Cornwall. Jewels never had any formal training and painted in a naïve style, mainly landscapes, portraits, fishing and harbour scenes in oil. She was a friend of ...

(1886–1977) * Daniel Johnston (1961–2019) Austin, United States *

Drago Jurak Drago Jurak (17 January 1911 – 1 January 1994) was a Croatian painter who was active during the time of Yugoslavia. His works can be found at the Croatian Museum of Naïve Art in Zagreb. Jurak was schooled for a wheelwright, then worked as a ...

(1911–1994) Croatia * Bob Justin (born 1941) * Ferenc Kalmar (born 1928) * John Kane (1860–1934) * Alena Kish (1889 or 1896–1949) Belarus *

(born 1935) Croatia *

Arnold Kramer Arnold Kramer (1882–1976) was an American folk artist. Early life Arnold Kramer was one of 12 children born to Michael and Gertrude Kramer in Mitchell County, Iowa. In 1891, when Arnold was nine years old, the family moved to a homestead ne ...

(1882–1976) * Siegfried L. Kratochwil (1916–2005) Austria * Ivan Lacković Croata (1932–2004) Croatia * Pavel Leonov (1920–2011) Russia * Maud Lewis (1903–1970) Canada *

Antonio Ligabue Antonio Ligabue (18 December 1899 – 27 May 1965; born Antonio Laccabue) was an Italian painter. He was one of the most important Naïve artists of the 20th century. Biography He was born in Zürich, Switzerland on 18 December 1899, to Elisab ...

(1899–1965) *

, known as 'Séraphine de Senlis' (1864–1942) * Claudine Loquen, (born 1965) France * L. S. Lowry (1887–1976) *

Manuel Lepe Macedo Manuel Lepe Macedo (April 17, 1936 in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco – September 9, 1984 in Guadalajara, Jalisco) Manuel Lepe was a Mexican artist who painted in a Naïve style, painting mostly themes based on the landscape and townscape of his nati ...

(1936–1984) *

Radia Bent Lhoucine Radia Bent Lhoucine (1912–1994) was a self-taught Moroccan artist who began painting in her later years, and whose work has been exhibited and sold at galleries in Africa and Europe. Life and work Radia Bent Lhoucine (also spelled Radia Bent ...

(1912–1994) * Ferreira Louis Marius (born 1953) *

Katya Medvedeva Katya Ivanovna Medvedeva (russian: Екатери́на Ива́новна Медве́дева ''Ekaterina Ivanovna Medvedeva''; born 1937) is a Russian naïve painter. Biography Yekaterina (Katya) Medvedeva was born January 10, 1937 in th ...

(born 1937) Russia *

Martin Mehkek Martin Mehkek (7 August 1936; Novačka – 1 July 2014; Koprivnica) was a Croatian painter. His works can be found at the Croatian Museum of Naïve Art in Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the nort ...

(1936–2014) Croatia *

Manuel Mendive Manuel Mendive Hoyos (born 1944) is one of the leading Afro-Cuban artists to emerge from the revolutionary period, and is considered by many to be the most important Cuban artist living today. Biography Mendive was born in Havana, Cuba, in 1944 ...

(born 1944) Cuba *

Dobrosav Milojevic Dobrosav Milojević was born in Donje Štiplje near Jagodina in 1948. He is well known living Serbian artist among the naïve painters. He lives and works in Donje Štiplje. Biography The official start of his dealing with the naive art is ...

(born 1948) Serbia * Ethel Wright Mohamed (1906–1992) United States *

Grandma Moses Anna Mary Robertson Moses (September 7, 1860 – December 13, 1961), or Grandma Moses, was an American folk artist. She began painting in earnest at the age of 78 and is a prominent example of a newly successful art career at an advanced age. ...

, Anna Mary Robertson (1860–1961) *

(1910–1981) Hlebine, Croatia * Navitrolla (born 1970) Estonia *

Radi Nedelchev Radi Nedelchev ( bg, Ради Неделчев; born April 1, 1938) is a Bulgarian artist best known as a painter of naïve art. His paintings depict mostly landscapes, village life and festivals. Radi Nedelchev is a member of the Union of Bulg ...

(born 1938) Bulgaria * Norman Neasom (1915–2010) * Nikifor (1895–1968) Poland *

Mary Nohl The Mary Nohl Art Environment (also called the Fox Point Art Yard, Fox Point Witch's house and Mary Nohl's house) is a residence in the Milwaukee suburb of Fox Point, Wisconsin. The property, which is filled with folk art created by artist Mary N ...

(1914–2001)

Fox Point, Wisconsin Fox Point is a village in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 6,934 at the 2020 census. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, Fox Point is one of the North Shore suburbs of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The ...

Teofil Ociepka Teofil Ociepka (22 April 1891 in Janów-Nikiszowiec, Janów Śląski – 15 January 1978 in Bydgoszcz) was a Polish self-taught Primitivism, primitivist painter and Theosophy (Blavatskian), Theosophist. Along with Nikifor, he was one of the best- ...

(1891–1978) Poland *

Stan Ioan Pătraş Stan or STAN may refer to: People * Stan (given name), a list of people with the given name ** Stan Laurel (1890–1965), English comic actor, part of duo Laurel and Hardy * Stan (surname), a Romanian surname * Stan! (born 1964), American author ...

(1908–1977) Romania * Bryan Pearce (1929–2007) * Mario Perez (born 1943) * Raphael Perez (born 1965) Israel *

Dominique-Paul Peyronnet Dominique-Paul Peyronnet (1872–1943) was a French painter. Biography Peyronnet was born in Talence, France, in 1872. From 1902, he worked as a printmaker at a lithography business in Paris, until the outbreak of World War I in 1914. He unde ...

(1872–1943) France * Nan Phelps (1904–1990) United States * Horace Pippin (1888–1946) *

Maria Pryimachenko Maria Oksentiyivna Prymachenko ( uk, Марія Оксентіївна Примаченко; – 18 August 1997) was a Ukrainian folk art painter, who worked in the naïve art style. A self-taught artist, she worked in painting, embroidery an ...

(1908–1997) Ukraine * Alevtina Pyzhova (born 1936) Russia * Ivan Rabuzin (1921–2008) Croatia * Polina Raiko (1927–2004) Ukraine *

Bárbaro Rivas Bárbaro Rivas (4 December 1893 – 12 March 1967), was a Venezuelan naive painter born in Petare Dulce Nombre de Jesus de Petare is a neighborhood in Miranda, Venezuela, and is part of the Metropolitan District of Caracas. It is locate ...

(1893–1967) Venezuela * Markey Robinson (1918–1999) Ireland * Konstantin Rodko (1908–1995) *

Vasily Romanenkov Vasily Tikhonovich Romanenkov (Russian: 'Василий Тихонович Романенков; 1953-2013), was a Russian naïve artist of the Soviet and post-Soviet periods. Biography Vasily Romanenkov was born in the village of Bogdanovka ...

(1953–2013) Russia *

Heinz Seelig Heinz Seelig (February 26, 1909 – December 25, 1992) was a German-born, Israeli interior architect known for his pioneering work in interior design, and later for his Biblically inspired paintings as well as the ''Seelig Art Haggadah''. Biogra ...

(1909–1992) Israel *

Oles Semernya Oles Semernya ( uk, Олесь Семерня; 2 August 1936 – 6 July 2012) was a Ukrainian artist, working mainly Ukraine and Moldova. He is one of the most prominent representatives of Ukrainian naive painting of the 20th century and the begi ...

(1936–2012) Ukraine *

Jon Serl Jon Serl (1894–1993) was an American artist. He is best remembered as a painter like the American artists Grandma Moses and Edward Hicks. He also worked in other roles and under several different names. These included as a vaudeville artist na ...

(1894–1993) United States * Jean Pierre Serrier (1934-1989) France *

Yeshayahu Sheinfeld Yeshayau Sheinfeld (Scheinfeld) (1909–1979) was an Israeli painter and industrialist. Early life and work Sheinfeld was born in Bessarabia and in 1929 he emigrated to Mandate Palestine. He first resided in Magdiel, then in 1941 relocated to P ...

(1909–1979) IsraelListed artist b
The Israel Museum
in Jerusalem *

Mary Michael Shelley Mary Shelley (born 1950 in Doylestown, Pennsylvania) is an American folk artist with no formal visual art training. Her art work has variously been described as naïve, primitive or self-taught. She graduated from Cornell University in 1972 wi ...

(born 1950) *

Chris (Simpsons artist) Chris (Simpsons artist) is a pseudonymous cartoonist known for his comedic and deliberately childlike caricatures and stream-of-consciousness writing. Early life Chris was born in England, where he spent his childhood before moving to Scotland. ...

(born 1983) England * Matija Skurjeni (1898–1990) Croatia * Petar Smajić (1910–1985) Croatia * Peter Smith (born 1967) *

Slavko Stolnik Slavko Stolnik (11 June 1929 – 17 May 1991) was a Croatian naive painter and sculptor. Life Stolnik was born in the village of Donja Voća near Varaždin. Interested in painting since childhood, but born in poor peasant family, he did not have fu ...

(1929–1991) Croatia * Bunleua Sulilat (1932–1996) *

Dragiša Stanisavljević Dragiša Stanisavljević was born in Jabučje, near Lajkovac, (May 25, 1921 – August 21, 2012) is an internationally known Serbian naïve and outsider sculptor. Biography Dragiša Stanisavljević was born in Jabučje, near Lajkovac, on May 25, ...

(born 1921) * Henry Stockley (1892–1982), Great Britain * Chaibia Talal (1929–2004) * Lavoslav Torti (1875–1942) Croatia *

Bracha Turner Bracha Turner (1925 – 2011) was a Naive Artist born in Jerusalem, eventually moving to Forest Hills, New York (where she would spend the remainder of her life). Turner began painting at the age of 58 and has had 56 solo exhibitions, including ...

(1922–2011) * Ivan Večenaj (1920–2013) Croatia *

Guido Vedovato Guido Vedovato (30 June 1961 in Vicenza, Italy) Italian naïve painter and sculptor. Vedovato is one of the best-known Naïve artists. He was born in Vicenza, northern part of Italy. He lives and works in Camisano Vicentino. He graduated as an e ...

(born 1961) Italy *

Arthur Villeneuve Arthur Villeneuve, (January 4, 1910, Chicoutimi, Quebec - May 24, 1990, Montreal, Quebec) was a Québécois painter and member of the Order of Canada. Life before painting Villeneuve was raised in a working-class family in Chicoutimi. His fath ...

(1910–1990) Canada * Mirko Virius (1889–1943) Croatia *

Miguel García Vivancos Miguel García Vivancos (April 19, 1895 in Mazarrón, Region of Murcia – January 23, 1972 in Córdoba) was a Spanish Naïve painter and anarchist. He was a member of the National Confederation of Labor ( es, Confederación Nacional del ...

(1895–1972) *

(1861–1936) * Elena Volkova (1915–2013) * Alfred Wallis (1855–1942) *

Scottie Wilson Scottie Wilson (28 February 1891 – 1972), born Louis Freeman (birth certificate says Lewis), was a Scottish, Jewish, outsider artist known particularly for his highly detailed style. Starting his artistic career at the age of 44, his work was ...

(1890–1972) * Fred Yates (1922–2008) * Sergey Zagraevsky (1964–2020) Russia

Museums and galleries

Croatian Museum of Naïve Art The Croatian Museum of Naïve Art ( hr, Hrvatski muzej naivne umjetnosti) is a fine art museum in Zagreb, Croatia dedicated to the work of naïve artists of the 20th century. The museum holdings consist of over 1,900 works of art - paintings, ...

, Zagreb, Croatia *

Musée international d'Art naïf Anatole Jakovsky The Musée international d'Art naïf Anatole Jakovsky (Eng.: Anatole Jakovsky International Museum of Naive Art) is a museum located in Nice, which displays 18-to-21st century works specialized in naive art. The museum was inaugurated on 5 March 1 ...

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

, France * Musée d'Art Naïf – Max Fourny,

, France *

International Museum of Naive Art International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

, Vicq, France * Museum of Bad Art, Massachusetts * National Folk Decorative Art Museum,

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian invas ...