Eddie Arning (1898 - 1993)
Hikers in Forest, 1972
Crayon on paper, 32 x 22 inches
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Institutionalized for most of his adult life, Arning was introduced to drawing in 1964 by a hospital worker who supplied him with materials. Arning’s medium from 1964 to 1969 was Crayolas. In 1969, he switched to oil pastels, or “Cray-pas.” Regardless of his media, Arning always worked in the same manner, covering the entire surface of the paper with dense strokes of color. He stopped drawing in 1974; a year after leaving his nursing home.