James Charles Castle

James Charles Castle (born September 25, 1899) was an Idaho artist-bookmaker, born in Garden Valley, Idaho. Presumed deaf, the young boy was also said to be mute, illiterate, and mentally challenged. Knowledgeable family members and boyhood friends and neighbors, however, confirm Castle could vocalize but could not verbalize: he could make sounds but not shape words. Careful consideration of his drawings and books suggest Castle had a limited writing ability, a skill he apparently was taught at the Idaho School for the Deaf and Blind. For decades it was believed Castle attended the state school for only a brief time, then was expelled as "uneducable." Discovery of a school mail log book in 2007 has revealed, however, that Castle attended school for at least five years. Aberrant behaviors that accounted for labeling the young man "retarded" have been reconsidered and today, medical experts such as Dr. Uta Frith of the London (England) Neurological Institute, and Drs. Clara Parks and Temple Grandin suggest Castle may or may not have been deaf but that he quite probably was autistic.

Castle used homemade materials to create his haunting and remarkable art. For pens he sharpened sticks and twigs. For ink he mixed stove soot and saliva. Paper was scavenged from discarded or found materials (bulk mail, cardboard cartons, cigarette packages, discarded textbooks). To bind his books the artist borrowed or found thread, twine, string or yarn.

Unwilling, unable, or not comprehending what he was being asked to do, Castle did not assist his family work their Idaho ranch after he was removed from school in 1915; nor did he assist in the post office the family oversaw, or their general store. Instead, the artist retreated to the loft of the family icehouse. There, in isolation, he sketched, made books, and created his constructions, cardboard figures, furniture and architectural structures.

In 1924 the Castle family moved to Boise Valley, and there the artist lived and created art until his death October 26, 1977. During this time, Castle mastered perspective, creating thousands of works (over 20,000 artifacts, according to an inventory done in 2000). While the artist was never encouraged by his immediate family to make art, neither was he discouraged. Robert Beach, the artist's nephew, however, recognized his uncle's genius, and brought Castle's work to the attention of art professors in Portland, Oregon in the 1950s. Their response was uniformly positive and for the next decade Castle enjoyed limited regional success in exhibitions in Washington, Oregon, California and--finally--Idaho.

Family delight with Castle's initial success, however, soon soured. The family grew to distrust art dealers and curators who disassembled works or failed to return unsold works. Reputable dealers found the family unfamiliar with standard commercial practices: works for sale could not be thumbtacked or taped to walls, nor trimmed to fit standard frames. Works needed to be inventoried, shipping fees paid. As well, dealers had difficulty "explaining" Castle's work to their clientele. "Self-Taught" or Outsider Art was largely unknown or unappreciated at the time. Art Brut may have been recognized in Europe, but the art often confused in the United States with Castle's at the time was Folk Art, typified by Grandma Moses.

By the 1970s, Castle was ill and ailing and the family would have little to do with the Art world. After his death, the artist was largely forgotten and his unsold works languished in less than archival conditions.

Castle's rebirth or rediscovery might be said to have begun in 1994 with the exhibition of over 50 of his books at the dedication exhibition of the Idaho Center for the Book (ICB) in Boise. On the recommendation of the center's director, the family retained a dealer, placed art work in a suitable storage facility and completed a thorough inventory of surviving works. Soon Castle Estate and ICB exhibitions of Castle's work were held throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. Today, the artist's reputation has been established globally.

* "James Castle: His Life & Art", by Tom Trusky (Boise: Idaho Center for the Book, 2004.
* "James Castle Drawings Constructions and Books Collection of the Boise Art Museum", curated and introduction by Sandy Harthorn, 2005.
* "Autism, Physiognomy & Letterforms: The Faces of James Castle", by Tom Trusky, Journal of Artists' Books, Fall 2002: 2-22.
* "Found & Profound: the Art of James Castle," by Tom Trusky, Folk Art, Winter, 1999:38-47.
* "James Castle & the Burden of Art", by Tom Trusky, Raw Vision, Summer 1998: 38-44.