CULTURE AND SOCIETY

Museum of American Folk Art

The museum, opened on June 23, 1961, is dedicated to the American craftsmanship and popular art of past and present self-taught artists. The collection ranges from early portraits by Sheldon Peck, Ammi Phillips, Asa Ames, Samuel Addison Shute and Ruth Whittier Shute, to quilts and wedding dresses, furniture and works by acclaimed masters such as Thornton Dial, Morris Hirshfield, Martín Ramírez, Judith Scott, Mary T. Smith and Bill Traylor. In total, his collection includes more than seven thousand works from the eighteenth century to the present day. These include 1,200 paintings, 1,500 drawings and works on paper, 1,000 sculptural objects, 1,000 textiles, 200 ceramic objects, 100 furniture as well as films, recordings and photographs. The museum also has the largest collection of archival materials by self-taught artist Henry Darger.

References

Kenneth T. Jackson, Lisa Keller, Nancy Flood. The Encyclopedia of New York City: Second Edition. Yale University Press, 2010. pp. 30-31
About (American Folk Art Museumn)
American Folk Art Museum (Wikipedia)