Press
Archive of noted articles, press, books, and features of my art or collections over the past years.
St. Louisians who discovered a passion and went about collecting it
January 7, 2022
Jennifer Lauren Gallery, Manchester, U.K.
John Foster, St. Louis, “Meet the Collector” Series Part Fifty- Seven
January 18, 2022
How ‘Holy Grail’ of American Folk Art was Found on Home’s Front Porch
January 21, 2022
We are pleased to announce the 2022 North of the 45th call for art
January 31, 2022
John Foster, a writer and scholar of art brut, photography, and self-taught art is the juror for North of the 45th.
2022
Major Gift for St. Louis Art Museum, a William Edmondson Discovery, and More
October 19, 2021
Brian Donnelly, aka KAWS, has acquired a William Edmondson sculpture as a promised gift to the American Folk Art Museum. Historian John Foster spotted the work sitting on a porch in St. Louis.
A ‘Holy Grail’ of American Folk Art, Hiding in Plain Sight
October 20, 2021
A collector’s keen eye — and willingness to knock on a stranger’s door — led to the rediscovery of a sculpture by a renowned stone carver, William Edmondson.
‘Holy Grail’ of American Folk Art Rediscovered in a St. Louis Yard
October 22, 2021
Art Enthusiast Spots Long-Lost Sculpture by Black Folk Artist in Missouri Front Yard
November 24, 2021
William Edmondson had a solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in 1937 but was buried in an unmarked grave following his death in 1951
KAWS Donates ‘Holy Grail’ of Folk Art—A William Edmondson Sculpture Discovered on a St. Louis Porch to New York Museum
November 24, 2021
The long-lost masterpiece Martha and Mary, which had been shown at MoMa in 1937, was spotted by an eagle-eyed collector
2021
2020
Close to Home: The Enchantment of Amateur Photographs
St. Louis Art Museum Blog, May 2020, by Eric Lutz
2019
'Poetics of the Everyday: Amateur Photography' at the Saint Louis Art Museum highlights the bizarre, artistic, and moving
St. Louis Magazine, April 2019, by Melissa Meinzer
2018
Don’t Take Pictures Magazine, Issue 10, Spring, 2018
Daniel Coburn Reimagines the Family Album, pgs. 10-15; Feature by John Foster
Don’t Take Pictures Magazine, Issue 9, January 10, 2018
Review by John Foster: Vivian Maier: A Photographer’s Life and Afterlife book by Pamela Bannos
Raw Vision Magazine, RV 96, Winter 2018
Review by John Foster: The Secret World of Renaldo Kuhler, book by Brett Ingram
2017
Folk Art Messenger magazine, Vol. 27, No. 3, Fall/Winter 2017
O.L. Samuels: A Personal Remembrance (1931-2017) article by John Foster
Raw Vision Magazine, Vol. 93, Spring 2017
Review: The Hidden Art: 20th-and 21st-Century Self-Taught Artists from the Audrey B. Heckler Collection
Flashbak magazine
Accidental Mysteries and Curious Feet: by Paul Sorene; September 1, 2016.
Vice Magazine/The Creators Project
The Incredible Story of ‘Drawings from the Inside State Hospital No. 3
2016
2015
The Breeze, James Madison University, Oct 25, 2015, New Exhibit in Duke Hall by Teresa Cummings
Amazing Vintage Halloween Costumes, Photo article by William Boot, The Daily Beast, October 31, 2015
Envisioning Howard Finster: by Norman Girodot; Book review by John Foster, Raw Vision magazine, Vol. 87, September 2015.
The Emergence of Snapshots as a Collecting Hotspot, Keynote speech by John Foster, at Comfort Station Gallery, Chicago, IL. August 7, 2015
aRUDE Magazine: Music, Photography and the Making of Icons: by Vanessa Daou. July 16, 2015
Opus Hypnagogia: Sacred Spaces of the Visionary and Vernacular, Curated by Stephen Romano, at The Morbid Anatomy Museum. July 18 - October 15, 2015
Disinformation: Opus Hypnagogia: Sacred Spaces of the Visionary and Vernacular, Curated by Stephen Romano. June 13, 2015
Washburn Review, Accidental Mysteries Brings Exceptional Anonymous Snapshots to Washburn: Rachel Phillips, by Amy Reinhardt. May 27, 2015
Signs of Life, Photographs by John Foster, 84-page book, Blurb. February 22, 2015
Don’t Take Pictures, Rule Breakers: Rachel Phillips, by John Foster. February 16, 2015
Metro Curates: The Unknown Artist: Lecture by John Foster, Metropolitan Pavilion, New York, New York. January 22, 2015
2014
Don’t Take Pictures, Collecting the Vernacular: Interview of John Foster, by Kat Kiernan, pages 44-47. Fall 2014
The Vernacular Portrait, Found Snapshots from the Accidental Mysteries Collection; 64-page book, by John Foster. Blurb.
June 2014
The Folk Art Messenger magazine, book review by John Foster; The True Gospel Preached Here; pg. 29. Summer/Fall 2014
The Daily Beast, Art on the Tracks, (John Foster) by Malcolm Jones. February 1, 2014
2013
The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture, Folk Art, book edited by Carol Crown and Cheryl Rivers: Three essays by John Foster, pg. 146, Vernacular Photography; pg. 271, William Edmondson; pg. 393, Sulton Rogers.
Luminary Center for the Arts: “Finding Art” Exhibition by John Foster November - December, 2013: ALIVE Magazine
Boing Boing, Vintage Snapshots of Creepy Clowns, November 11, 2013.
Art & Antiques Magazine; April 2013. The Extraordinary Ordinary of John Foster, by Edward Gomez. Pgs. 86-93.
St. Louis Magazine: John Foster’s Accidental Mysteries, by Byron Kerman, February 25, 2013.
Collectors Weekly: Take That, Instagram! The Enduring Allure of Vintage Snapshots, by Hunter Oatman-Stanford,
March 27, 2013.
Lost at E Minor; Accidental Mysteries: An Online Curiosity Shop of Extraordinary Things, by Hunter Oatman Stanford, March 7, 2013.
ALIVE Magazine, November 2013. Luminary Arts to Present John Foster’s Extraordinary Art Collection.
2012
Art Without Artists; Gregg Museum of Art & Design, NC State University: 64-page color catalog. September 27 – December 16, 2012. Available as a free iBook on the Apple Book Store
SF Gate: Accidental Masterpieces, article by Judy Walgren; June 6, 2012.
Phaidon: John Foster’s Curious Collection of Snapshots; January 20, 2012.
Found Magazine, 2012 October. Finder’s Spotlight with Collector John Foster, pgs. 74 - 77.
The Riverfront Times, The Electric Pencil: A long-lost cache of sketches by a state mental hospital patient finally yields up some of its secrets by Aimee Levitt, September 14, 2012.
2011
Sleek Design: Paris, Singapore: Accidental Mysteries, cabinet de curiosites graphiques, by Elodie Palasse-Leroux. August 4, 2011.
St. Louis Beacon, Photographic Treasure Finds Its Way Home, by Robert W. Duffy. July 6, 2011.
2010
NINE by TEN, Accidental Mysteries, by Cherish Pennington, November 21, 2010
Art 21, November 29, 2010, Under the Influence: Drugs, God and Politics in Self-Taught Art
The New York Times; Self-Taught but Not Forgotten, by Eve M. Kahn, June 20, 2010
The Online Photographer; Surreal Snaps of John Foster, November 12, 2010
Art21 Magazine/Flash Point, Drugs, God and Politics in Self-Taught Art by John Foster, November 29, 2010.
2007
Folk Art Magazine, May, June Issue; Interview with John Foster by Tanya Heinrich, pgs. 30 - 32.
PEM Connections magazine, The Wonder of Everyday Photography, page 7.
2004
Gateway Magazine, Missouri Historical Society, Vol. 25, No. 2, Fall 2004, pgs. 52-59
The Uncommon Vernacular: Searching for Extraordinary Snapshots by John Foster
Raw Vision Magazine, RV 44, Fall 2003. pgs. 50-51
John Foster Meets Ralph Lanning and Explores The Concrete Garden He Began 34 Years Ago
2003
2000
Folk Art Messenger Vol. 13, No. 2, Summer 2000
Smudging the Edges: Folk Art Goes Commercial by John Foster