An exhibition catalogue from the American Folk Art Museum's 2024 show traces the story of Saint-Alban-sur-Limagnole, a French psychiatric asylum that sheltered Spanish Republican refugees and resistance fighters during World War II. Under Catalan psychiatrist Francesc Tosquelles, patients were encouraged to create art from found objects, producing works that later influenced Jean Dubuffet's concept of Art Brut. The asylum became a haven where hierarchies between doctors and patients were leveled, and patients bartered their creations for food during wartime austerity.
This story matters because it highlights a little-known intersection of art history, mental health treatment, and wartime resistance. Tosquelles' radical approach—treating patients as creative individuals rather than inmates—produced works that challenged Nazi definitions of "degenerate" art and later shaped the Art Brut movement. The exhibition catalogue documents how art emerged from extreme circumstances, offering lessons about humanity and creativity under oppression that remain relevant today.