Neither Mental Illness Nor Age Will Stop Frank Calloway

Have you all heard about Frank Calloway, the 112-year-old man who has lived in mental health hospitals and long-term care facilities since being diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1952?

What? An old guy living in a nursing home? What’s interesting about that? you may be wondering. Well, not much, but when you add in that Calloway is such a talented and impressive artist – even at 112 years old – that his caretakers have been told his works could sell for thousands, the story becomes much more interesting, yes?

Even more interesting is that Calloway’s art reflects a time period long past, rather than modern buildings, vehicles, and other such stuff we have today, and the edges of much of his work are lined with numbers.

In an exhibit titled, “The Marriage of Art, Science and Philosophy,” the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, MD, will feature 18 of Frank’s murals in October 2008.

A big thanks to Angelique for passing this along to me!

And, for more information about inspiring people with schizophrenia, check out my recent review of Elyn Saks’s memoir The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness.