Outsider Artist Franca Settembrini

Franca Settembrini (Italy, 1947-2003)

Franca Settembrini was born in Florence in 1947. In 1958 she was placed in the children’s psychiatric ward in the city’s asylum. During the Sixties and early Seventies she was placed in many different in patient and outpatient psychological programs, but none of these seemed to improve her condition.

Beginning in 1976 she participated in the “La Tinaia” workshop for about ten years, where she would paint and draw with great force and energy.
Due to the closing of several public psychiatric hospitals, in 1986 she was transferred to a private clinic outside of Florence, which had no art program. Fortunately, after 6 years she was transferred to a hospital that did have an art program. In this setting she revealed such a strong artistic talent that the director of the program contacted “La Tinaia” for more information on her and her previous work. In 1995 she was sent back to Florence and rejoined La Tinaia, where she continued her remarkable work until her death from Leukemia in October 2003.

Franca Settembrini’s artwork is in many important private and public art collection’s, including the Collection De L’art Brut in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Judy A Saslow Gallery