Outside In

UST AS THE “Italian primitives” (artists of the 14th and early 15th centuries) inspired the Pre-Raphaelites and the “primitive” (or tribal) art of Africa and Oceania inspired Picasso and other European modernists, “American primitives” (also known as “folk art”) had an important influence on the American avant-garde. In the 1920s, associate editor Sarah Fensom writes about these cultural trends while discussing a fascinating exhibition devoted to folk artists, self-taught artists, and trained modern artists who were influenced by them (see page 44).