"Accidental Genius" Highlights Major Gift to Milwaukee Art Museum
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 1:43AM 
August Walla (Austrian, b. 1936), The Absolute Truth (Gericht!), 1990. Acrylic on canvas (double sided), 78 x 63 in. (198.12 x 160.02 cm). The Anthony Petullo Collection. M2012.230a,b. Photo: Larry Sanders.Milwaukee collector Anthony Petullo owns an extraordinary collection of modern self-taught art--much of which is on exhibit at the Milwaukee Art Museum. Self-taught art falls into several categories--including naive art, outsider art (also known as art brut) and sometimes folk art. The article below will give you a peek and some insight into Petullo’s fine collection.
MILWAUKEE, WIS.- Accidental Genius: Art from the Anthony Petullo Collection, an original exhibition of modern self-taught art featuring more than two hundred works opened Friday, February 10, 2012, at the Milwaukee Art Museum. The exhibition includes many of the most important European and American artists in the genre, and celebrates the significant gift of works by Milwaukee collector Anthony Petullo to the Museum. READ MORE...
It should be noted that not all individuals with little or no training are considered naive or outsider artists. Vincent van Gogh, for example, was largely self-taught--but his work is neither naive our outsider art. In addition, some artists who have been professionally trained have aligned themselves with outsider art--as a way of protesting against the powers-that-be of the professional art world.
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