Dwight Mackintosh

Dwight Mackintosh (1906–1999) began making artwork late in life, after spending over fifty-five years in institutions; he was interned at age sixteen. Upon his release at age seventy-two, Mackintosh came to Creative Growth in Oakland. Rendered in distinctive, kinetic line work, Mackintosh’s subject matter reflects his experiences, through events and objects, from a lifetime of institutionalization. His drawings feature orderly lines of boys, sometimes with genitalia exposed; buses that are empty or full; and self-portraits of his own tonsillectomy. The work is characterized by repetitive flowing text and “x-ray” views of loosely drawn, yet tightly composed figures. The looping text is often illegible to the viewer, but it is so essential to Mackintosh’s expression that it is sometimes the only visual element on the page. Mackintosh practiced in the Creative Growth Studio until his death in 1999.

Mackintosh’s work has been exhibited internationally, including a retrospective exhibition at the Collection d’Art Brut in Lausanne, Fraenkel Gallery, Gavin Brown’s enterprise, Rena Bransten Gallery, and the Berkeley Art Museum. His work is part of the permanent collection of the Studio Museum in Harlem, the American Folk Art Museum in New York, the Madmusée in Liège, and the Collection de l’Art Brut in Lausanne.