Several distinctions should be made between folk art and the more familiar high art, the art of the masters and of most museums. In contrast to the materials, practices and intentions of high art, folk art makes use of common materials, cheap and readily available, such as those employed by Grandma Moses, who used house paint on Masonite to portray scenes of rural New York State. The creative act itself is usually selftaught, without the benefit of allegiance to or education in a particular school or movement. The intentions of folk art, rather than to express universal concepts or use broad, culturally recognizable imagery, are highly personal and generally concentrate on topics of regional interest. Folk art usually finds its voice through an intensely individual expression.

A further distinction should be made between folk art and the closely associated primitive art (the product of so-called “primitive” societies, such as the tribal cultures of sub-Saharan Africa and Australian Aborigines) and popular art (art produced for a mass audience). Though often lumped together, folk art is generally the product of the rural environment of an industrialized society and, rather than being mass produced for a broad popular audience, it is often unique in production and values. These classifications are often lumped together under the general heading of “primitivism,” denoting a naive expression on topics of limited appeal.

Folk art can be differentiated from folk craft in that the latter is the commercial production of a traditional form of hand manufacturing, such as quilting or basket weaving.