Untitledn.d.22 1/2 × 23"Pencil and watercolor on paperGift of Charles O'Neal2014.12.101552244675Agatha WojciechowskyDrawingsCopyright for this work is under review. New YorkNew YorkUnited StatesNew YorkWorks on PaperNew YorkObject information is a work in progress and may be updated with new research. Records are reviewed and revised, and the American Folk Art Museum welcomes additional information. To help improve this record, please email photoservices@folkartmuseum.org
In 1923, Agatha Wojciechowsky (1896–1986) emigrated from Germany to the United States, where she became a member of the Universal Spiritualist Association, receiving investiture into the priesthood in 1961. Spiritualism is the belief that spirits of the dead are able to communicate with the living. Beginning in the mid-19th century, spiritualism was tied to scientific investigation and medical practice. It was believed the spirit world could legitimize experience, and provide insight into moral and ethical issues—including the nature of God. In the wake of the Civil War, it is not surprising that spiritualism took hold—so many were stricken by grief and seeking answers.
Wojciechowsky first took up painting, drawing, and writing as tools to communicate with the spirit world in 1951. From her small New York apartment, she was lead by two Native American spirit guides into a trance-like state from which she would produce automatic writings and paintings. About her work she stated: "This is the work of different entities who take over and step into my body, directing my hand. I really have nothing to do with it." To date, more than 550 works such as Untitled have been retrieved, including ten notebooks of automatic writings. The work brings to mind the dream journals of the Surrealists though, in Wojciechowsky’s case, it is not the individual Unconscious but rather the spirits of the deceased who dictate the form her art takes.00 2014 12 1 Object information is a work in progress and may be updated with new research. Records are reviewed and revised, and the American Folk Art Museum welcomes additional information. To help improve this record, please email photoservices@folkartmuseum.org
In 1923, Agatha Wojciechowsky (1896–1986) emigrated from Germany to the United States, where she became a member of the Universal Spiritualist Association, receiving investiture into the priesthood in 1961. Spiritualism is the belief that spirits of the dead are able to communicate with the living. Beginning in the mid-19th century, spiritualism was tied to scientific investigation and medical practice. It was believed the spirit world could legitimize experience, and provide insight into moral and ethical issues—including the nature of God. In the wake of the Civil War, it is not surprising that spiritualism took hold—so many were stricken by grief and seeking answers.
Wojciechowsky first took up painting, drawing, and writing as tools to communicate with the spirit world in 1951. From her small New York apartment, she was lead by two Native American spirit guides into a trance-like state from which she would produce automatic writings and paintings. About her work she stated: "This is the work of different entities who take over and step into my body, directing my hand. I really have nothing to do with it." To date, more than 550 works such as Untitled have been retrieved, including ten notebooks of automatic writings. The work brings to mind the dream journals of the Surrealists though, in Wojciechowsky’s case, it is not the individual Unconscious but rather the spirits of the deceased who dictate the form her art takes.