Mike Disfarmer
1884–1959
Introduction
Mike Disfarmer (born Mike Meyer, 1884–1959) was an American photographer posthumously known for his portraits of everyday people in rural Arkansas from the 1920s to the 1950s.
Like photographer Vivian Maier and illustrator Henry Darger, Disfarmer was unrecognized during his lifetime and out of touch with his relatives — receiving notoriety only after his death.
When his stark, realist photographs, noted examples of outsider art, were rediscovered in the 1970s, they were recognized for their artistic merit, especially given that the photographer himself was self-taught, without formal training or influence from a larger art context.
Wikidata identifier
Q1630000
Information from Wikipedia, made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License . Accessed April 1, 2026.
Roles
Artist, photographer
ULAN identifier
500074988
Names
Mike Disfarmer, Mike Meyer
Information from the Getty Research Institute's Union List of Artist Names ® (ULAN), made available under the ODC Attribution License. Accessed April 1, 2026.