Birds and Flowers

Scottie Wilson – born Louis Freeman in 1888 – was a Scottish outsider artist (art by un-institutionalised artists working outside the mainstream) who worked extensively in pen, producing highly detailed and unique pieces of art. His career began almost by chance: aged 44, Wilson began doodling with a fountain pen on his tabletop until, a few days later, the entire surface was filled with penned figures.

Notoriously distrustful of art dealers, he nonetheless garnered great critical acclaim and exhibited alongside Picasso, de Chirico, Klee and Miró amongst others. His work was greatly admired by contemporaries too: on a trip to France in the early 1950s, Picasso and Jean Dubuffet – a champion of outsider art – met Wilson, both having collected a great deal of his work. He died from cancer in 1972.