Joseph Pickett: A Naive Painter

Joseph Pickett - Coryell’s Ferry, 1776 - c. 1914-18 - Oil on canvas - 37 1/2 × 48 1/4 in. - Whitney Museum of American Art, New York American Art; Naive Painting (click photo for larger image)Naïve art is usually defined as visual art that is created by a person who lacks the formal education and training that a professional artist undergoes.
Joseph Pickett (1848-1918) was an American painter known for his naive depictions of town and landscape around his native New Hope, Pennsylvania. He remained there throughout his life.
At 65 years old, after a life spent as a carpenter, shipbuilder, carny, and storekeeper, Pickett began painting. His work exemplifies his detailed interest in local landscape and history, executed with a disregard for perspective but with a solid sense of color and flat-pattern design. Pickett’s works were not discovered by art critics or the public until the 1930s.

