Cunning Folk considers magical practice, practitioners, and their persecution in early modern European artwork and material culture (c.1500–1750). The term “cunning folk” typically describes wise people who knew traditional spells and remedies believed to cure and protect. The works on paper, painting, and personal items on view in this intimate, single gallery exhibition more broadly explore the historical concept of “cunning” in connection to many forms of secret magical rites and knowledge, from folk charms to occult natural philosophy to diabolic witchcraft. Early modern artists also helped construct the idea of magical figures as a threat to the prevailing social order–particularly through the rise of print culture–and here, a selection of American contemporary artworks reconjure these histories.

This exhibition is organized by the Cantor Arts Center and curated by Sara Lent Frier, Burton and Deedee McMurtry Assistant Curator, Prints, Drawings, and Academic Engagement. We gratefully acknowledge sustained support for Cunning Folk: Witchcraft, Magic, and Occult Knowledge provided by The Halperin Exhibitions Fund.

IMAGE: Dominique Viviant Denon (French, 1747–1825), A Coven of Witches (detail), 18th century. Etching. Cantor Arts Center, Stanford University, gift of William Drummond, 2019. Variable channel video installation (color, sound); 2:50 min. Cantor Arts Center, Stanford University, The Anonymous B Acquisitions Fund © Jeffrey Gibson

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