Ida Buchmann was born in Egliswil, Switzerland, in 1911. From 1966, she lived at the psychiatric clinic Königsfelden, where her artistic talent was discovered and nurtured. She produced artworks periodically well into her 80s. Her moods swung from deeply sad to overly confident; she painted during her euphoric phases.

Ida Buchmann’s dynamic pictures often revolve around love and friendship. Her preferred subjects include memories of her family, illustrations of songs and poems. Her highly personal art reflects her emotional life, her dreams and longings. Buchmann very swiftly produced paintings of up to 4 x 4 metres (~13 x 13 ft) in acrylic, crayons, Sharpie marker and Indian ink. They show colourful, strongly contoured figures between handwritten texts. What stands out in her work is that her figures’ bodies are often endowed with a second face.

A decisive stroke and almost gaudy colours are further characteristic traits. Ida Buchmann usually worked in the presence of another and let the dialogue inform the subject of her paintings. Highly personal, drawing from life, her needs and longings, her works also reflect her respective mood and life situation. Ida Buchmann knew nothing of traditional bucolic, historic or contemporary art. Her works stem purely from an inner need for expression, and bespeak a great talent free from all artistic criteria, creative without bias. She had no interest in traditional concepts of art and never once in her life visited a gallery or museum.

Ida Buchmann often sang while she was painting. She let her associations run freely in a joyful atmosphere. She collected her own works and liked to look at them every so often. Ida Buchmann died in 2001, aged 91, leaving behind a small, yet all the more remarkable oeuvre.

Her paintings can be found in the Diamond Collection, Vienna, and the Charlotte Zander Museum, Bönnigheim, among others.