Chicago is internationally known as the center for the recognition and acceptance of self-taught art, and also as a place where an uncanny number of outstanding self-taught artists lived and worked. Intuit: The Center for Intuit and Outsider Art is the primary institution dedicated to the study and appreciation of this work. Roger Brown was a founding member in 1991.
In addition to a growing permanent collection and ambitious exhibits and programming, Intuit's Robert A. Roth Study Center a non-circulating collection with a primary focus in the fields of outsider and contemporary self-taught art. Holdings include an extensive and growing library of books, catalogs, periodicals, slides, photographs, videotapes, and archive materials. The Henry Darger Room Collection is a permanent exhibit evoking Darger's home and studio, with materials from Intuit's extensive collection.
The Department of Prints and Drawings at the Art Institute of Chicago has over 120 works by Joseph Yoakum, and works by Henry Darger, James Castle, and Martin Ramirez.
Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago has works and exhibits work by self-taught artists on occasion.
The Milwaukee Art Museum has extensive holdings, including The Michael and Julie Hall Collection of American Folk Art, the Anthony Petullo Collection of Self-Taught and Outsider Art, and many individual donations and acquisitions.
The John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, WI, has a substantial commitment to the work of self-taught artists, expressed through exhibitions, publications, symposia and an extensive permanent collection. The collection is primarily comprised of large or complete bodies of work by self-taught artists, and elements of vernacular environments that could not be preserved in their original locations. Works by self-taught and vernacular artists are exhibited regularly. The Arts Center leads Wandering Wisconsin, and provides maps, itineraries, and travel information to facilitate the exploration of a consortium of Wisconsin art environments.
Kohler Foundation, Inc. in Kohler, WI, is a private foundation that supports education, arts, and preservation initiatives. Kohler Foundation's varied scope includes a focus that is altogether unique: the preservation of art environments and collections by self-taught artists.