Prison art is art that is created by persons who are imprisoned.[1]
Prison art is unique in several ways. Due to the low social status of prisoners, art made by prisoners has not historically been well-respected.[2][3] The art, much like the prisoners themselves, is often subject to controls.[4][5] Art made by prisoners is sometimes valued,[6] or conversely sometimes sought to be actively destroyed.[7] Prisoners often lack common art supplies, and have been known to fashion supplies from materials at hand such as candy or instant coffee.[8]
Painting by Bassel Khartabil June 17, 2015, Damascus Central Jail "An attempt to draw a stereotype. This is the stereotype I have in mind for the deformed souls, I have to deal with every day at jail. There are a lot of them."
Incarceration Nation, 2017, by Donald "C-Note" Hooker
Pencil drawing from a German Prisoner of war on a wall in Camp Beale, California. Note the wedding ring.
Ferris Wheel, toothpick art made by a San Quentin prison inmate, Musée Mécanique, San Francisco California
Paintings created by child prisoners on the wall of the prison building in Auschwitz II Birkenau. Image depicts a school.
A Pomeranian Prison Camp, 1941 Louis Mitelle. A view down a gangway in a hut in a POW camp. Dejected prisoners in military uniform sit on the bunks which are three levels high and laundry hangs from the beams above. On the floor a group of prisoners sit huddled together in a group.
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