Outsider Art

Outsider Art, defined as art by untrained makers operating outside art world establishments, is an increasingly important and diverse area of today’s art world, with major museums establishing collections and holding retrospective exhibitions of artists in the field.

Christie’s is the market leader in this category and holds the world auction records for highly important Outsider artists including Henry Darger, William Edmondson and Bill Traylor.

Please do not hesitate to contact us for a free and confidential valuation, or to discuss the market.
Abstract, textured painting with vibrant blue, green, and white strokes intertwined to create a dynamic, chaotic composition.

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Our specialists are currently preparing our next Outsider Art auctions. In the meantime, browse results from past auctions.

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A vibrant, abstract painting featuring swirls and floral shapes in a myriad of rich, multicolored textures.

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  • Cara Zimmerman

    Cara Zimmerman

    Head of Americana and Outsider Art

    New York

    Cara Zimmerman is a Vice President, Head of Americana and Outsider Art. Since joining the company in 2014, Cara has developed and expanded Christie’s Outsider Art sales, creating stand-alone auctions for the category and achieving world auction records for important Outsider artists including William Edmondson, William Hawkins, Bill Traylor, and Carlo Zinelli, among many others. She has also been instrumental in highly successful Folk Art sales, which have achieved top prices for works by artists including Edward Hicks, Ammi Phillips, Wilhelm Schimmel, and Samuel Addison and Ruth Whittier Shute.

    Before joining Christie’s, Cara worked for the Philadelphia Museum of Art and served as Executive Director for the Foundation for Self-Taught Artists in Philadelphia. She has edited and written for catalogues published by the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Ackland Art Museum at UNC Chapel Hill, San Jose State University, and the University of Delaware University Museums. Cara received her AB from Harvard University and her MA from the University of Delaware. She is a PhD Candidate at the University of Delaware.
  • Julia Jones

    Julia Jones

    Associate Specialist

    New York

    Since joining Christie’s in 2018, Julia Jones has been instrumental in the successful sale of works of important American furniture and paintings, Outsider art and Decorative arts. Julia has worked on landmark sales such as the Collection of Anne and Gordon Getty, La Rêverie: The Collection of Sydell Miller and the Collection of Henry Ford II. She oversaw the white glove sale of High Style in Highland Park: The Collection of Mr. & Mrs. Edwin L. Cox. Julia graduated with B.A.’s in Art History and Anthropology from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and went on to receive her Master’s degree in History of Art at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London.

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The image is a vibrant painting depicting figures in colorful attire lined up in rows, forming patterns amid abstract shapes.

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