"Folk Art is art which does not come out of the fine art tradition. Folk Artists are typically from rural or pre-industrial societies, and are more closely related to craftsmen than fine artists. Folk Art is characterized by a naive style, in which traditional rules of perspective and proportion are not employed." (from Artcyclopedia)

MUSEUMS - COLLECTIONS - GALLERIES

African American Folk Art - Kentucky Crafts

American Folk Art Museum New York, NY.

American Folk Art & Antiques Southern folk art and crafts.-- features a collection of significant 18th, 19th, and 20th century Americana and contemporary Southern folk art-- paintings, pottery, furniture and more. 

American Folk Artists Listing from Artcyclopedia

American Folk Art - Museum of Fine Art Boston

Metropolitan Museum - American Folk Art   Selected Artists   Selected works
Go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art site and search for the individual names.   

American Folk Art in the Metropolitan Museum of Art article with names of artist in the collection

American Folk Art in the Metropolitan Museum of Art - Article with images (thumbnails) Paintings, watercolors, drawings, and portrait miniatures by the greatest names in American folk art - Rufus Hathaway, Edward Hicks, Joshua Johnson, Ammi Phillips, and other artists working within naive and provincial traditions in the United States during the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries (from Traditional Fine Arts Online)

Anton Haart Gallery - Contemporary Folk Art from the deep South - some Mexican.

Florence Griswold Exhibit from the National Gallery  Paintings from the late eighteenth through the nineteenth centuries --works by largely self-taught artists demonstrate strong design in pleasing colors with a sense of vitality (from Traditional Fine Arts Online).

Ginger Young Folk Art Gallery - excellent examples of American folk art. Gives background information on the artists. 

National Gallery of Art: Index of American Design

Outsider Pages an assortment of outsider art

Pennsylvania German Folk Art - National Gallery of Art - four rooms. American Design

Primitive Kool Folk Art Gallery San Diego, California. Lots of fun art from very diverse artists. Browse to select images for you unit. I only found one slightly objectionable image when I looked at this site. Many different art media represented. Lots of painted frames.

Singular Visions: Folk Art From Charlottesville Collectors from University of Virginia.

Tramp Art and Folk Art  at Sholl Antiques. Folk art from the early 20th century - examples of pyrography, rustic, matchstick, folk marquetry, penknife whimseys, chip carving, memory, tramp art, crown of thorns and fretwork. Browse -- then take a look up in grandma's attic for tramp art treasures.

Wisconsin Folks - an award winning website that features traditional and ethnic artists in Wisconsin. Lots of images help students  learn about artists, art forms and  traditional cultures. Sections for teachers provide extension materials. Great interdisciplinary resource for students and educators that links the arts with social studies and language arts.

Favorite Folk Artists

• James Castle (1900-1977) - Raw Vision article - at Greg Kucera Gallery (short bio) - at Art in America article by Steve Westfall
  

• Earl Cunningham (1893-1977) Mennello Museum of American Folk Art  
  
  

• Henry Darger (1982 - 1973) PBS documentary - janitor by day, visionary artist by night. Biography
  
  

• Thorton Dial, Sr. (African-American Folk Artist, Born 1928)   Bayly Art Museum at the University of Virginia   Montclair Art Museum, New Jersey  Untitled, 1989-90
  
  

• Nick Englebert's Grandview (1881- 1982) Nick created more than 40 concrete sculptures in his yard, combining patriotic themes with imagery from history, fairy tales, mythology and his own imagination. (site was down last I checked)
  
  

• Minnie Evans  (African-American Folk Artist, 1892-1987)
  
  

• Tom Haney - Articulated Artwork from Atlanta Georgia. Maker of one-of-a-kind,
  hand-crafted automata and other works of modern folk art. Be sure and view the newest additions - watch the short videos, too.
  
  

• Edward Hicks Arcyclopedia links page.  Edward Hicks (1780-1849) "The Peaceable Kingdom" sold for $4,732,500 January 1999 - World Auction Record for American Folk Art.

Edward Hicks - Carol Gerten Fine Arts

• Clementine Hunter (1887 - 1988) Louisiana folk artist. More on Hunter
  
  

• Howard Finster: Man of Visions - excellent site. 
  
  

• James Harold Jennings - North Carolina (1931-1999) - Jennings - Self-Taught Art.
  Jennings - Marcia Weber Art Objects.
  
  

• Joshua Johnson Artcyclopedia links page - African American artist

National Gallery of Art - Joshua Johnson  

• Warren Kimble - Contemporary Folk Artists - Vermont. (Site was down last I checked)
  
  

• Michael Meehan - uses recycled items to create one-of-a-kind, mixed-media folk art faces from wood scraps, plumbing pieces, and oven knobs and more -  from San Francisco, California.
  
  

• Grandma Moses - Anna Mary Robertson "Grandma" Moses  at  About.com. Brief biography and links to more sites on the Internet.  To avoid annoying pop-up ads - try downloading Google tool bar  Also see Artcyclopedia

Bennington Museum- Vermont  Seven stolen paintings by Grandma Moses are discovered.

"Sugaring Off" Gihon Foundation

• Horace Pippen African American - Artcyclopedia links page
  Know the Artist: Horace Pippen (student created page)
  National Gallery of Art - Horace Pippin
  
  

• Nellie Mae Rowe - Georgia (1900-1982) More images from Nellie Mae Rowe  Biography 
  Book: The Art of Nellie Mae Rowe
  
  

• Steve Shepard - Work inspired by Edward Hicks. Bold colorful compositions with text borders. Powerful messages. Steve's work is black ink and Prismacolor on paper darkened with alizarin crimson watercolor - with text borders inspired by the Peaceable Kingdom (and others) by Hicks. His work may inspire a lesson using pastels, Prismacolors, oil pastels or construction paper crayons on black (or dark paper) paper. Steve is fine artist from Mississippi - his work just has a "folk" appeal - many of his statements are political in nature.
  
  

• Vollis Simpson -  Windmill powered whirligigs - unique science and art connection to wind. Visit the Yard.
  
  

• Dan Torpey's Automata: Fun, whimsical moving works of art. A little sculpture - plus invention - plus lots of imagination! I like Can Pigs Fly? 

Appalachian Art and Folk Art

Appalachian Treasures Gateway: From Ohio University -Zanesville. Learn about culture, history and more. Some of the art links I checked are broken - but still lots to see.

Appalachian Archives: from Center for Appalachian Studies

Appalachian/Blue Ridge Quiltmaking Quilt and Quiltmaking in American 1978 - 1996

Early Appalachian Folk Art - University of Kentucky Art Museum Includes Lesson Plan Also see contemporary folks art.

Appalachian Quilt images (not all from Appalachia region)

World Folk Art

• International Museum of Folk Art - Santa Fe. Folk art from around the world. Check out the newly designed web site. Lots more to see from the collection now online.
  
  

• Off the Map - Tour Backyard Paradises PBS site - a look at ten visionary artists from around the world. Create your own backyard paradise.
  
  

• Smithsonian Folk Art Toys

LESSON PLANS - CURRICULUM MATERIALS

• American Folk Art Thematic Unit by Molly LaPlante - for grades 2 thru 5. Adaptable to upper grades. Some Internet resources are outdated.
  
  

• C.A.R.T.S. Cultural Arts Resources for Teachers and Students.  People's Poetry Gathering  Place Matters
  
  

• Face Jugs - ceramics lesson for middle school and up.
  
  

• Folk Art Lesson Plan: Folks of Folk Art Discusses what folk art is and what is Outsider art. Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute lesson by Lynn Marmitt. Four lessons to adapt.
  
  

• KinderArt: Folk Art Weather Vane - make from cardboard or think wood. for an alternate lesson, try foil tooling. Good lesson for upper elementary and middle school. 
  
  

• American Folk Art for Kids, with 21 Activities, by Richard Panchyk