Michael Tolleson,1957 | Autistic Savant Artist

Michael Tolleson is an Autistic Savant Artist, who has no formal art training, but instead relies on the use of the huge amount of stored information that his Asperger’s mind has observed and retained.

During his art career of only 4 years of painting, he has painted more than 600 paintings, and each painting is usually completed in less than one hour of painting time regardless of size.

He states that he feels trance-like during the actual act of painting, and is reluctant to take credit for the finished work as he feels the autism is actually the artist.

During his short-painting-career (about 9 years) he has painted more than 1500 gallery-worthy paintings.

Regardless of its size, paintings are usually completed in less than 120 minutes.

As a result, Michael is reluctant to take credit for his work, believing his savant autism is actually the artist within him. Until his mid-fifties, Michael was unaware of his autism.

In 2015, at the age of fifty-eight, he was formally diagnosed with Autism.

In October 2014 Michael received a global first place in visual arts at the “ANCA Naturally Autistic 2014 Awards” in Scotland.

In April 2015, Michael appeared and painted live at the Nokia Center in Los Angeles during the “Temple Grandin and Friends’” event, demonstrating, as a savant, the gifts autism brings through him.

He does this often at autism benefits and conferences.

Michael maintains and operates the Galeria Robles Vallarta, a 6000 square-foot facility that houses an Art Gallery, and Fine Dining restaurant located in the historic Centro area of Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico.

Presently Michael is writing his Memoir which will be released 2025, and an advice book on autism-to-autism relationships due out 2026, as well as continuing his global speaking/painting engagements. Michael’s artworks are collected and sought after world wide.