Children's Drawings in the Context of Folklore A previously unknown Basel Collection

In the Basel Museum of Cultures there is a collection of children's drawings, which came about through calls by the folklorist Eduard Hoffmann-Krayer (1864-1936) from 1919 onwards. Guided by a research interest in the naive drawings and paintings of children, he had called for children's drawings to be sent in. In the following years, about 1800 works arrived, spanning the period from 1864 to 1930. On the one hand, the article traces the genesis of this remarkable collection and presents individual thematic focal points. On the other hand, it asks about the motivation for the formation of the collection, which arose neither from an educational nor an artistic, but from a folkloristic impetus and whose cultural-historical value only becomes apparent from a temporal distance.

Automated summary

The collection of children's drawings in the Basel Museum of Cultures originated from a folklorist's call in 1919, resulting in about 1800 works spanning from 1864 to 1930. This collection showcases the cultural value of children's drawings and reflects the naivety and uniqueness of children's art.