Painting and, to a lessor degree, sculpture produced in the so called sophisticated western or westernized countries but lacking in conventional representational skills. Although the first notable practitioner was perhaps EdwardHicks )1780-1849), an American Quaker preacher famous for his religious scenes, naive art really gained widespread popularity only in the 20th century, particularly through the writings of the critic Wilhelm Uhde after the First World War, and through a series of exhibitions of naive art. Henri Rousseau (1844-1910), 'Le Douanier' ('the customs officer), was the first well-known naive painter. Other now famous names have included Alfred Wallis and Grandma Moses. In the decades following the middle of the 20th century there was a particular concentration of naive painters in what is now the former Yugoslavia, particularly Croatia.
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