Untitled, 1992

Wool, acrylic, and cotton yarn, with rattan and wood
© Estate of Judith Scott. Photo by Ian Reeves.

Judith Scott was diagnosed with Down syndrome soon after birth, but her deafness—likely a result of scarlet fever in infancy and masked by her inability to speak—remained undiagnosed until she was in her thirties. Mainly on account of this misunderstanding, Scott was deemed “ineducable” by medical practitioners and placed, at the age of seven, in the Columbus State Institution (originally known as the Ohio Institution for Feeble-Minded Youth, now the Columbus Developmental Center). She remained institutionalized for thirty-five years, until 1986, when her sister secured legal guardianship and arranged for her to move to California. In 1987 Scott enrolled at the Creative Growth Art Center in Oakland, California. There she began to create idiosyncratic sculptural assemblages consisting of found objects bound with yarn and other materials. Largely since her death, her works have garnered critical acclaim, been acquired by major museums, and appeared in important international exhibitions.