exhibition  # 1

a collection of outsider art that inspires other artists

henry darger  1892-1973 (america). 

devout hermit and janitor whose panoramic illustrations for a self-penned fairytale fictionalised his own troubled childhood.

( inspires david byrne / paul chan / karin mamma andersson )

sister gertrude morgan 1900-1980 (american)

self-proclaimed bride of christ whose artworks and music were intended to help spread the word at her new orleans faith mission.

( inspires lee friedlander )

sam doyle 1906-1985 (america)

laundry worker whose paintings on tin and wood depict the local populus of st. helena, themselves descendants of south carolina's freed slaves.

( inspires ed ruscha )

morton bartlett 1909-1992 (america)

amateur sculptor and photographer who created, fashioned and photographed a secret family pf pre-teenage mannequins.

( inspires grayson perry / marnie weber )

william hawkins 1895-1990 (america)

kentucky born hunter, truck driver, scrap merchant and pimp, five foot four hawkins created giant canvases of thick house paint and collage.

( inspires jeff mcmillan / jockum nordstrom )

reverend william blayney 1918-1985 (america)

born-again pentecostal lay preacher whose garish fire and brimstone tablets illustrated his prophetic biblical sermons.

( inspires shezad dawood )

george widener 1962-  (america)

southern artist with exceptional memory and mathematical skills, whose inner world is revealed in beguiling diagrams on discarded napkins.

( inspires colin rhodes )

johann hauser 1926-1996 (slovakia)

illiterate, autistic and schizophrenic, hauser's vivid world of figures and shapes made him among the most celebrated of all gugging artists.

( inspires arnulf rainer ) 

prophet royal robertson 1936-1997 (america)

sign painter whose drawings and decorated environment were dedicated either to visions of the future or curses against his ex-wife.

( inspires scott ogden )

george thaxton miller 1900-1988 (america)

burly southern entrepreneur and eccentric who took on the ku klux klan, local government and anyone else who stood in the way of profit.

( inspires peter saville )

reverend jesse howard 1885-1983 (america)

retired farmer whose biblical and political rants formed hand-painted signs and banners plastered across his home and yard.

( inspires bob and roberta smith )

justin mccarthy 1892-1977 (america)

wealthy law student whose liberated oils and drawings portrayed movie stars, ice skaters, plantlife and beasts, all in glorious colour.

( inspires jeff mcmillan )

carlo zinelli 1916-1974 (italy)

italian butcher and soldier whose battle scars found form in three thousand works depicting bullet ridden creatures and mystic texts.

( inspires daniel baumann )

nek chand 1924 -  (india)

indian road-worker who recycled the remains of his village to create an organic kingdom of figures to rival the linear city of chandigarh.

( inspires sunand prasad / idris khan / thukral and tagra )

william scott 1964 -  (america)

artist and good person who portrays himself and his family as the skyline friendly organisation in a newly re-developed 'praise frisco.

( inspires david byrne )

anna zemankova 1908-1986 (czechoslovakia)

dental technician and late-blooming artist whose embroidered botanical drawings were guided by forces beyond her understanding or control.

( inspires paul noble )

morris hirshfield 1872-1946 (ukraine)

east coast slipper manufacturer who turned to painting in his 70's and who was subsequently honoured with a one-man show at moma in 1943.

( inspires bruno bischofberger )

howard finster 1916-2001 (america)

paradise garden superstar and preacher whose finger called on him to paint the word of god, and whose works number in the tens of thousands.

( inspires jarvis cocker )

louis wain 1860-1939 (britain)

english artist whose famous drawings of mischievous cats abstracted as his behaviour grew increasingly erratic at the onset of schizophrenia.

( inspires mathew weir / nick cave )

the museum of everything is in NW1, london. 

admission is free.