ROCKFORD ART MUSEUM | COLLECTION | OUTSIDER ART

Stephen Ward Anderson

Stephen Warde Anderson has spent but all of a few of his years in Rockford, yet he has had exhibitions nation wide including Chicago, Milwaukee, and New York. Prominent museums that hold his work include the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C., the Museum of Contemporary Folk Art in New York, the Roger Brown Study Collections of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Milwaukee Art Museum and Rockford Art Museum.

Anderson didn't begin his career as a professional artist until his thirties and has no professional training as an artist. He is entirely self-taught working in the mediums of tempura and gouache. In 1988, he had a show at a Rockford cafe where he was picked up by Phyllis Kind Gallery in Chicago.

A love of classic cinema of the 40's to the 70's inspires most of his work. He owns over 2300 films on DVD. In the past he chosen to portray Hollywood actresses in portraits of their on screen roles in such as B-movie star, Mara Cordey or "the Technicolor queen," Maria Montenez. More recently, he seems to be delving into a broader range of subjects including from diverse walks of life including the poet Emily Bronte, the author Jane Austen, the Greek goddess Cybil, the singer Enya, and the contemporary French film sensation Audrey Tautau.

Normally done with the subject looking the viewer straight on or at a three-quarter view, these portraits evoke a sense of longing and romanticism for these famous figures. The touch of his brush in describing the flesh tones is very subtle and enigmatic. He contrasts this with a bold colorful background that is sometimes monochromatic, sometimes a landscape, or sometimes fantasy scene of his own devise.

In an artworld that sees many artists with Grad school education futilely trying to mimic the art of untrained naive artists, Anderson is real. He pursues his subject matter unpretentiously and with reverence, without the cynicism that characterizes much of the contemporary art scene's approach to celebrity.