Timeline
A timeline of outsider art and UK graffiti
From the first asylum collections to Ron's Place and Banksy's statue on Pall Mall. Dates are sourced; where sources disagree, we say so.
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1871
Spirit drawings in Bond Street
The medium Georgiana Houghton shows 155 abstract "spirit drawings" in a London gallery. The show nearly ruins her. -
1879
A postman picks up a stone
Ferdinand Cheval begins his Palais Idéal at Hauterives, France. He finishes it 33 years later, in 1912. -
1908
Wölfli's Giant Creation begins
At the Waldau clinic near Bern, Adolf Wölfli starts his 25,000-page imaginary autobiography. -
1920
Madge Gill meets Myrninerest
On 3 March, the East London artist says a spirit guide takes over her drawing hand. -
1921
Simon Rodia starts building
The Watts Towers rise in Los Angeles over the next 33 years. -
1922
Artistry of the Mentally Ill
Hans Prinzhorn publishes his illustrated study of patients' art from Heidelberg, which inspires the Surrealists. -
1945
Dubuffet coins "art brut"
On a trip to Switzerland, Jean Dubuffet names the art he will spend his life collecting. -
1946
Art therapy at Netherne
Edward Adamson begins working with patients at Netherne Hospital, Surrey, and starts a collection. -
1972
"Outsider art" is named
Roger Cardinal's book Outsider Art gives the field its English name. -
1976
Lausanne opens its doors
The Collection de l'Art Brut opens in Lausanne's Château de Beaulieu. Nek Chand's Rock Garden opens in India the same year. -
1979
Outsiders at the Hayward
More than 400 works by 42 artists introduce outsider art to the British public. -
1983
Graffiti arrives in Bristol
Inspired by Wild Style and Style Wars, Robert Del Naja (3D) starts painting. -
1985
Robbo paints the canal
King Robbo, aged 15, paints a piece on the Regent's Canal that will last 24 years. -
1989
Raw Vision is launched
John Maizels founds the international magazine of outsider art in London. -
2008
Street art goes mainstream
Banksy's Cans Festival opens Leake Street, Tate Modern hosts Street Art and Upfest begins in Bristol. -
2010
A UK home for outsider art
The Musgrave Kinley Outsider Art Collection is given to the Whitworth in Manchester. -
2024
Ron's Place is listed
A Birkenhead flat becomes the first outsider art environment listed in England. -
2026
Lausanne at 50, Banksy on Pall Mall
The Collection de l'Art Brut celebrates 50 years, and Banksy installs a statue in central London.