Art History Meets Psychology: A Collection of Essays
Looking at the nuanced relationship between creativity and mental health among a selection of artists from across time.
I write about the intersection of art and mental health from the perspective of my own lived experience. And also from interviews with others. And sometimes from something I’m reading in contemporary books. But I also have a love for looking back at art history through the lens of mental health and considering the nuanced ways that psychological challenges may have impacted or been impacted by an artist’s creativity.
My book, The Artist’s Mind, is all about this, and I feel like that book was really just a starting point for my research. This post is where you’ll find a regularly-updated list of the essays I write on this topic.
Looking at Specific Artists
Art and Mental Health History: Sonja Sekula
Leonora Carrington Art and Mental Health
Isa Genzken: A Half Century of Prolific, Innovative Art and Openness on Bipolar Symptoms
Art History and Mental Health: Surrealist Kay Sage
Michelangelo Buonarroti: Art and Mental Health History
Arthur Bispo do Rosario: An Unfinished Chapter of The Artist’s Mind by Kathryn Vercillo
Pain, Parties, Work … Sylvia Plath’s Bell Jar Summer
History’s Mental Health Diagnoses Among Artists
The Impact of Hysteria Diagnosis on Women in Art History
Art History and Outdated Mental Health Diagnosis: Neurasthenia
From Neurasthenia to Shadowbanning
Multi-Artist Essays About Specific Mental Health in History Topics
Asylum Art: Artists Who Created While Living in Psychiatric Institutions (And Those Who Did Not)
Where does the "truth" lie in a self portrait? What history's artists reveal ..
9 Mental Health Lessons from Famous Artists
And One Guest Post
Richard Dadd: Excerpt From The Artist’s Mind. After murdering his father during psychosis, Richard Dadd lived and created his art in a psychiatric prison.