Naive, Outsider & Folk Artists ...Mauslby Kimball and Anthroposophy

Technically, I suppose outsider art is any work of art not recognized by the fine art community at large. In my estate sale rounds, most of the artwork that I come across falls into that black hole of a category.

All humans have a need to communicate, to express themselves, and those with artistic talent take to the palette. Few of these talented people have education in their field, and those that do may fall outside the strictures of current day trends. They are labeled "outsiders".

These outsiders, or naives, churn out art, sometimes in a frenzy, producing works that come straight from the subconscious. The technique is clumsy, perspective is off kilter, yet you are drawn into it.

Take a look at the example above, a Maulsby Kimball watercolor. Here is a man with a specific vision and purpose to his output. Kimball was a follower of Anthroposophy - a really outside the loop, highly spiritual religion founded by Rudolph Steiner. ( great Wiki intro to Anthroposophy ). I think Kimball set out to try to explain this religion through his painting, and to provide followers with a visual upon which to meditate.

As with most of the artwork I list on eBay, I found this at an estate sale. I had no idea who Maulsby Kimball was, but was attracted to the bold blues and mellow shapes. This is a large painting, measuring 23" x 30", and is painted in washes on fine quality Arches France paper.

This wonderful painting has been sold - it has a new home with a former student of Mr. Kimball's.

Maulsby Kimball 1904-1987. Educated at the Art Students League NYC; the School of Fine Arts, Buffalo; and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia. He was also the art director at Bryn Mawr for a time, as well as President of the American branch of Anthroposophy.



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