Press

Archive of noted articles, press, books, and features of my art or collections over the past years.

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



2018

Don’t Take Pictures Magazine, Issue 10, Spring, 2018
Daniel Coburn Reimagines the Family Album, pgs. 10-15; Feature by John Foster

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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

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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 TimesThe 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 BeaconPhotographic 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