Scottie Wilson

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Scottie Wilson (* around 1890 or 1891 in London or Glasgow ; † March 26, 1972 in London) was born Louis Freeman and was a Scottish artist of the brut . He is known for his detailed style. He began his artistic career at the age of 44. His works were admired and collected by Jean Dubuffet and Pablo Picasso . He is counted among the first line of Art brut artists of the 20th century.

Early years

He was born on Ropework Lane in Glasgow and left school at the age of eight because he had to help supplement the inadequate family income. Among other things, he sold newspapers on the street. In 1906 he enlisted in the Scottish Rifles and served on the Western Front during World War I. After the war he emigrated to Toronto , Canada, where he ran a second-hand shop.

Artist career

The beginnings

At the age of 44, he began to scribble with one of the fountain pens that he was selling in his shop, and that was how he discovered his love for painting.

From his memory he describes the process as follows:

“One day I was listening to classical music - Mendelsohn - when, on a whim, I dipped the fountain pen into the inkwell and started drawing on a cardboard box - you would call it scribbling. I don't know why, I just did it. Within a few days - I was drawing almost incessantly - the entire cardboard box was covered with small faces and patterns. The fountain pen seemed to drive me to draw, the pictures, the faces and the patterns flowed out, I couldn't stop - since that day I have never stopped. "

At this point he began his work, which is his personal moral code and in which the signs called "evils" and "greedies" are equated with the naturalistic symbols of goodness and truth. The first art dealer who dealt with Wilson's work and showed his works in various galleries was the Canadian Douglas Duncan. Although Wilson did not want to part with his work, he still found that an artistic career was preferable to that of a shopkeeper, and so he tried to solve the problem of making money by merely showing his paintings on tours, charging low entrance fees or organizing collections.

The success

After achieving initial success in Toronto, he surprisingly returned to London in 1945 and continued to exhibit his pictures for a small fee as long as he maintained a deep distrust of art dealers. A few months later he was persuaded by an art dealer and there was a solo exhibition in the Arcade Gallery in London, where artists such as Pablo Picasso, Giorgio de Chirico , Paul Klee , Joan Miró and others had already exhibited.

Later years

Wilson spent the rest of his years in Kilburn , north west London, working in his furnished room. In the early 1950s, he traveled to France - persuaded by the artist and Art Brut collector Jean Dubuffet - where he not only met Dubuffet but also Pablo Picasso, who were both fans and owners of his works.

In the memory of art critic Bill Hopkins , who was a friend of Wilson and who accompanied him on this trip, this meeting is presented as follows:

“When we arrived, not only was Dubuffet waiting, Pablo Picasso was with him. Both owned some of Scottie's works, and Picasso had come to see or maybe buy more works. I clearly remember that both of them admired Scottie's drawings and, with their passionate, theatrical, Gallic voices, squabbled over who was allowed to buy which piece. "

Wilson began painting on plates in the early 1960s and was then commissioned by Royal Worcester to design a series of tableware that was produced until 1965. His picture "Bird Song" was used for the UNICEF Christmas card in 1970. Although Wilson always complained about his poverty, at the time of his death it turned out that he was hiding a suitcase full of money under his bed and had large sums of money in various bank accounts. He died of cancer in 1972.

Subject matter and style

The evolution of his style is incomprehensible - most of his works are not dated - and therefore it is very difficult to put them in a chronological order. He stuck to a limited number of visual elements: plant structures, birds and other animals, clowns (self-portraits), greedies and evils as personifications of evil. His work can only be brought into a purely speculative order through the subtle changes and developments in its subject matter and style. His early works are apparently more organic in composition and are less precise in the treatment of surfaces and in detail. Later pictures became more pleasing and the level and richness of detail increased.

From him the statement is handed down:

“While I work, I can see what is happening and I can imagine what should happen. I can make out the best while finishing my pictures with the pen. While I'm making lines; hundreds and thousands of lines. "

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The Henry Boxer Gallery states the place of birth with London on its website.
  2. ↑ On the website of the Anthony Petullo Collection you can find the dates of life from 1891 to 1972, where Glasgow is given as the place of birth. The birthplace of Glasgow is also named by Raw Vision .
  3. ↑ The National Portrait Gallery are on their website for the exhibition Scottie Wilson photographed by Ida Kar his life data from 1890 to 1972 at.
  4. ↑ a b Scottie Wilson (1891–1972) ( Memento from September 16, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) at The Anthony Petullo Collection of self-taught and outsider art , on petulloartcollection.com, in the Internet Archive on archive.org, as of 16 September 2006, viewed May 17, 2011
  5. ↑ a b Article in Raw Vision ( Memento from October 31, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) on rawvision.com, in the Internet Archive on archive.org, status: October 31, 2006, viewed May 17, 2011 (English)
personal data
SURNAME Wilson, Scottie
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Freeman, Louis (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Scottish draftsman
DATE OF BIRTH around 1890
PLACE OF BIRTH London or Glasgow
DATE OF DEATH March 26, 1972
Place of death London or Glasgow