Unknown is a category rather than a name. When I travel, I look for the unknown local artist, even if it is just down the street to the local fair. The local eye or style always attract me. The ability to distill the feeling of a place and transfer it to a canvas is what has made past unknowns into grand masters. It just takes time for us to catch on to the brilliance.
I enjoy walking through the grand art museums around the world, Philadelphia fine arts museum has the largest collection of Rodan outside of the Louvre. The Mutter Museum is a lot of fun if you like the darker side. The Louvre takes days to appreciate. Just getting a chance to see the Mona Lisa is worth the trip, but don’t run in and out and miss full the experience.
Go to D.C., New York, Philly, Paris, Frankfurt and maybe you can see it, that all of the past masters were just local artists at some point. Most of them were unknown and died broke or broken from feeling like failures. There are stories attached to most of them talk about rejection and criticism for their style. They looked at the world and through new eyes.
I like the unknown artist. I look for them. Who knows? Maybe my kids will inherit a future grand master.
The New Word Wars 