The Female Muscle Folk Art of Lewis Smith

Lewis Smith was an eccentric and untrained artist who is now internationally recognized for his folk art of muscular women. He was born in 1907 but didn't begin drawing until he was in his 60's. After the death of his mother, he lived alone in the woods of Ohio without electricity or telephone.

Smith uses familiar scenery of bars, diners and neighborhoods from train trips his mother had taken him on. He typically drew with crayon on canvases of paper grocery bags, cardboard and even the walls of his house and buildings. Common "throwaway" items like old boxes, magazines and bottles spoke to him about the outside world. While mostly secluded, Smith read and subscribed to over 100 newspapers, giving him a unique worldview which he expressed in his art and writings.

His work was included in a museum show on art brut in France in 2000, and in the book "ABCD une collection d'art brut". Lewis Smith passed away in 1998.