Folk Art Society of America

07/28/2026

Saturday at Paradise Garden was fun for a second reason beyond the opening of Black Cat Tips' exhibition "Birds of a Feather: Black Cat Tip in Paradise Garden."
We also had a visit from a large group from Georgia Rivers, which followed a 7-mile float on the Chattooga River with a tour of Howard Finster's 4-acre folk art environment.
Our Operations Manager Mary Shewan found the large group, which had already managed to navigate the narrow and winding Chattooga, ready to dive into the deep end of Finster lore on the tour she gave. And some of the paddlers enthusiastically rowed right into Black Cat Tips' in-progress opening reception.
Their event was billed as a Chattooga River Folk Art Adventure, and, hey, we here at Paradise Garden happen to think folk art goes well chasing adventures of many kinds!
We hope to see the spirited Georgia Rivers (garivers.org) folks again soon -- say, for Finster Fest on the weekend of Sept. 19-20 (just floating an idea here!).
🚣‍♀️
📸: Dominic Weatherill

07/27/2026

07/22/2026

Howard Finster is represented in another museum exhibition commemorating the 250th anniversary of America’s founding.
The Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, incudes a Finster wooden cutout titled “Abraham Lincoln, A Penny in God We Trust” (1991) in its exhibit “American Stories: Revolution to Rockwell.”
The text accompanying the artwork provides this background: “In this work, self-taught artist Howard Finster was inspired to portray Abraham Lincoln through the familiar image of the American penny. The phrase ‘In God We Trust’ reflects Finster's deeply held religious beliefs, which informed both his ministry and his art. Combining painted imagery with handwritten text, Finster blends American history, popular culture, and devotional expression in a vivid, handmade style.
“An appreciator of Finster's work, illustrator Alan E. Cober visited Finster at his home, where the two traded artworks with one another, a time honored practice for many artists.” (The work came to the Rockwell Museum’s collection from Cober’s estate.)
Of “American Stories,” on view through October 26, the museum’s website informs, “This sweeping exhibition explores how artists — from the Revolutionary era to today – have made visible the evolving story of America. Featuring over 200 powerful works across themed sections, ‘American Stories’ reveals how illustrations — from the 18th century to today — have reflected and shaped what it means to be American.”
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📸: Micki Beth Stiller (with thanks to Tina Cox for sharing)

07/21/2026

Like many American folk artists, Howard Finster was patriotic, so it's only appropriate that his art is being shown in some America 250 exhibitions around the U.S. of A.
The latest example we've found is his painting "Our First and Last Leaders of the Truth" (1977) in the show "Americana at 250: Eagles, Flags, and Uncle Sam" at the New Mexico History Museum in Santa Fe through January 27, 1927.
Loaned from the wonderful Museum of International Folk Art, also in Santa Fe, it's one of Howard's rare 4-foot-square paintings. In addition to a huge portrait of George Washington, there are smaller Finster depictions of a young Jimmy Carter, Jesus and, inside an outlined cross, Billy Graham.
Also inside the cross, Howard, not missing an opportunity to try to save people from sin, quotes John 8:32: "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
The New Mexico History Museum exhibit showcases "symbols of Americana, or objects that evoke a sense of national identity and pride," according to the museum. "Symbols of state that speak to freedom and strength."
Also included in the show are a rare souvenir ribbon from Teddy Roosevelt’s 1903 Santa Fe visit, a bronze titled “Unfinished Liberty” by Fritz Scholder and a huge wood carving “Bald Eagles” by Leroy Ortega.
More about the exhibit here: nmhistorymuseum.org/exhibition/details/6836/americana-at-250-eagles-flags-and-uncle-sam

07/21/2026

“JULY BLACKBERRIES” by Eldridge Bagley 1992 Oil on linen 18” x 24”
Wild blackberries flourished along the edges of our pastures and woodlands when I was growing up, and we made the most of them. That sweet, juicy fruit yielded countless jars of jam, jelly, and luscious cobblers. The berries also provided some extra spending money for enterprising kids who picked and sold them to local restaurants. The cool of the morning was ideal for picking, and long sleeve shirts offered protection from the thorny bushes. I vividly remember some neighbors walking through our back door one summer morning with a huge enamel pan of blackberries that they had picked for us—truly a labor of love.
This painting is in a private collection and was reproduced as a limited edition print and as a note card in 1992. None of those prints or cards remain available for sale.

07/21/2026

07/21/2026

Some artists begin with an idea.
Some begin with a vision.
Yayoi Kusama began with hallucinations.

As a child in Matsumoto, Japan, her world was overtaken by vivid visions. Fields of dots. Endless nets. Patterns spreading across walls, ceilings, even her own body. Terrifying, relentless, impossible to switch off.

So she did the only thing that made them bearable.
She painted them.

Kusama did not turn to art to be provocative or rebellious. She turned to it to survive. Painting gave structure to chaos. Repetition became grounding. The dots were not decoration. They were a lifeline.

Her mother tried to stop her.
The art world dismissed her.
Her mental health deteriorated under years of obsessive work and erasure.

Eventually, Kusama made a radical choice. She voluntarily checked herself into a psychiatric hospital in Tokyo and kept creating.

From there, she has produced some of the most recognisable and influential work in contemporary art. Infinity Nets. Mirrored rooms. Sculptures, paintings, poetry. Entire universes built from repetition and obsession.

She did not overcome her hallucinations.
She transformed them.

What once frightened a child now draws millions of visitors worldwide. What was labelled illness became language. What others urged her to hide became the core of her greatness.

Today, at 96, Kusama still walks from the hospital to her studio almost every day. She still paints. She still works. She still follows the same thread that allowed her to live.

Her story is a reminder that creativity does not always come from clarity or balance. Sometimes it comes from persistence. From listening to what keeps returning. From refusing to abandon the thing that will not leave you alone.

Even infinity begins with a single dot.

07/21/2026

Artist Nellie Mae Rowe features a central winged figure in this drawing is a “haint,” a Gullah word for a type of evil spirit. “Haint blue” is a pale, green-tinted shade of blue meant to mimic the appearance of sky or water and is often seen in Rowe’s work portraying ghosts or spirits. This haint is calmly perched on a log with a growing plant. The fluid nature of this figure shows that the boundaries of identity in Rowe’s work often blur and merge, like the haint and the plant.✨🌀

07/21/2026

07/21/2026

Happy American Painters Day!

Eldridge Bagley
Game Checking Station
1996
Oil on linen, 18” x 24”
Courtesy of Morris Museum of Art, Augusta, Georgia

Eldridge Bagley Art