Henry Darger: Author/Artist

HENRY DARGER: AUTHOR/ ARTIST

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HENRY DARGER: Author/

Artist JANUARY 20MAY 29, 2017 CURATED BY

MICHAEL BONESTEEL

Words and Art Unite in

“Henry Darger: Author/Artist”

BY MICHAEL BONESTEEL

Henry Darger created works

of art at the same time he was writing his epic saga, Realms of the Unreal (written roughly 1910 – 1939). Both Darger’s art and writing are populated by many of the same heroic and villainous figures, and relate the same tale of war between the Christian kingdom of Abbieannia and the satanic empire of Glandelinia, fought over the issue of child slavery. There are a few instances when scenes in his carbon-traced watercolor drawings depict actual episodes from the novel—such as when the imprisoned Vivian girls try to escape by rolling themselves up in long carpets or when they hide themselves in impossibly oversized fiddle cases.

Henry Darger (American, 1892-1973). At Jennie Richee. 2 of Story to Evans. They attempt to get away by rolling themselves in floor rugs, 1930-40. Carbon transfer, graphite, watercolor, and ink on woven paper, 19 x 24 in. Collection Musée d’Art Moderne, Paris

For the most part, however, very few of the artworks have literal correspondence with the text, and, while most of the drawings play on the general themes, they rarely delve into any specific events from the story.

In fact, there is often a palpable disconnect between events depicted in his drawings and those of his writings. For example, Darger made numerous references in the captions of his artwork to an imaginary location called “Jennie Richee,” but there are only occasional brief mentions of this place in the Realms novel.

Nothing significant happened at Jennie Richee in the written story, yet in his art he depicts dozens of scenes occurring there.

While Darger’s art was an extension of and an improvisation upon his writing, and not really an illustration of it, in the end text and artwork are parallel versions of his Realms world, each with its own independent reality. Keeping that distinction in mind, it can nevertheless be useful to correlate a select number of visual pieces with written texts that elucidate them, despite not being perfect matches.

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The exhibition Henry Darger: Author/Artist presents artworks accompanied by enlarged photographic facsimiles of typewritten pages from the Realms novel that supplement, complement and enhance them. It features portraits of main characters Jennie Vivian (one of the seven Abbieannian princesses) and her devoted guardian Jack Ambrose Evans, each adjacent to stories about them from the pages of the Realms. A portrait of Jennie is juxtaposed with an episode from Volume 3 that finds her captured by Glandelinians and forced to work in a child-slave factory. As she prays for delivery from her hardships, she has a vision of “tall angels with beautiful dazzeling white wings” (all quotes here reflect Darger’s original punctuations, capitalizations and misspellings), who promise her she will soon see her parents again. Two pages about Jack Evans from Volume 4 recount his upbringing as a child slave, his eventual freedom, and quick rise to the rank of officer in the Christian army.

Cat. 7 Henry Darger (American, 1892-1973), Jennie Francis Vivian, mid-twentieth century. Watercolor and carbon transfer on paper, 26 x 18 in. Collection of Robert A. Roth. Photo © John Faier

Henry Darger (American, 1892-1973), Page 1284 (797 or 127) of The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinian War Storm, Caused by the Slave Rebellion (volume 3) (detail), between 19101912 and 1932. Ink on paper. Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York, gift of Kiyoko Lerner, 2004.1.4c.

Photo by Adam Reich, courtesy American Folk Art Museum, ©Kiyoko Lerner

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Henry Darger (American, 1892-1973). Page 1284 (797 or 127) of The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinian War Storm, Caused by the Slave Rebellion (volume 3) (detail), between 1910-1912 and 1932. Ink on paper. Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York, gift of Kiyoko Lerner, 2004.1.4c.

Photo by Adam Reich, courtesy American Folk Art Museum, ŠKiyoko Lerner

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Perhaps the most visually intriguing of the Realms texts in this exhibit are two pages from Volume 7 unbound (there was also a bound Volume 7). Although he otherwise typed in black ink, Darger has typed all the capital letters and punctuations on these pages in red, perhaps symbolizing the bloodshed described. They accompany a group portrait of Glandelinian generals titled Untitled (Portraits of General Bichnellian, General Tomas Federal, General Tamerline, and General Meldonia Shoeman). Darger’s text identifies two of these figures—Thomas Phellinia Tamerline and a likely relative of Tomas Federal, Raymond Richardson Federal—as the Glandelinians responsible for assassinating the child slave leader Annie Aronburg.

Cat. 5 Henry Darger (American, 1892-1973). Untitled (General Bichnellian, General Tomas Federal, General Tamerline, General Meldonia Shoeman), mid-twentieth century. Watercolor, ink and pencil on paper mounted on board, 15 1/2 x 12 in. Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York, museum purchase, 2000.25.4. Photo credit: James Prinz, © American Folk Art Museum/Art Resource, NY

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In these two pages, we not only learn about the generals,but also read an account based on the author’s real-life experience. Darger routinely cut out images of figures from coloring books, newspapers, magazines, comics and catalogues, and these served as sources for the characters he traced into his visual art. After clipping a photo from the Chicago Daily News (May 9, 1911) of Elsie Paroubek, a 5-year old child who was abducted and murdered, Darger apparently lost the photo and prayed to God for its return. Eventually, his rage against God for not producing the Paroubek photograph resulted in his introducing a parallel event in the Realms and prolonging the course of his rambling war saga, which, ultimately, took some 30 years—and 15,000 pages.

Figure 2. Elsie Paroubek from an article in the Chicago Daily News, Tuesday, May 9, 1911.

In the novel, Darger’s alter-ego, the fictitious Captain Henry Darger, travels to Abbieannia to solve what he calls the “Aronburg Mystery.” He arrives there, ostensibly to aid the Vivian Girls in leading the child-slave rebellion, but his covert agenda is to recover a picture of the Joan of Arc-like leader of the rebellion, Annie Aronburg. On the pages from unbound volume 7, Abbieannian General Viviania (no relation to the Vivian girls) comments on recent Glandelinian activities: “‘This is all on account of that Darger and his old picture,’ He said bitterly; ‘I wonder how it could be recovered.?’”

Henry Darger (American, 1892-1973). Page 3a (2256) of The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinian War Storm, Caused by the Slave Rebellion (unbound; volume 12cf.JM, or volume 7) (detail), between 1910-1912 and 1932. Ink on paper. Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York, gift of Kiyoko Lerner, 2004.1.4m.

Photo by Adam Reich, courtesy American Folk Art Museum, ©Kiyoko Lerner

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The exhibition also pairs pages from the Realms with drawings of two battle scenes taking place in the vicinity of the fortress city of Norma Catherine. One scene features a charge of the purple-coated Christian army. The other pictures gray-coated Glandelinian soldiers attacking the naked and defenseless Vivian sisters, who are deprived of the comforts of protective clothing so as to be easily spotted if they escaped from a factory or detention camp. In his mid-career artwork, Darger seemed to delight in drawing nude children. Emotionally arrested by the trauma of being institutionalized in his early adolescence, the author/artist seemed stuck at that age of emerging sexuality.

Cat. 1 15 At Battle of Norman Catherine (detail) Photo © John Faier Cat. 2 18 At Norma Catherine (detail)

(Page 8-9) Cat. 2 Henry Darger (American, 1892-1973). 18 At Norma Catherine. But wild thunderstorm with cyclone like wind saves them, mid-twentieth century. Watercolor, pencil, colored pencil, collage and carbon tracing on pierced paper, 19 1/8 x 47 3/4 in.

Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York, museum purchase, 2002.22.2A. Photo credit: James Prinz, © American Folk Art Museum/Art Resource, NY

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It is almost certain that such interests never strayed beyond his fantasy world. But why did he place penises on girls?

Darger scholars have been fascinated by this anomaly. The second book of Darger’s beloved Oz series by L. Frank Baum presents a girl by the name of Tip who is transformed into a boy by the witch Mombi. This could be one source for the phenomenon. There are other theories: These children are not girls with penises, but boys in drag; or perhaps Darger was projecting a condition called gender dysphoria—the feeling that one’s emotional and psychological identity as male or female is opposite to one’s biological sex. Is it possible Darger identified as a transgender person?

Among the examples where Darger’s text and artworks are closely allied are sections of Volume I introducing the fantastic beasts known as Blengins. Chapter Four of Realms Volume 1 is titled “WHAT ARE BLENGIGLOMENEAN SERPENTS….?” and contains encyclopedic descriptions of this fabulous and ferocious species—known, for short, as Blengins—populating Darger’s otherworldly planet. They have scaly bodies, long serpentine tails, colorful butterfly wings, and some are even capable of speech. Each type, however, is equipped with a different kind of head. Some are dragon-headed creatures, while others have the heads of dogs and eagles. Two of the artworks included in this exhibit are examples of cat-headed and human-headed Blengins with accompanying texts that describe their physical and emotional characteristics. This variety of Blengins disappears in Darger’s later artwork, replaced exclusively by the human headed species, evolved into large but very human-looking beings with ram horns and butterfly wings.

A third Blengin watercolor drawing is paired with two pages from Chapter Five of Volume 1 in which Darger continues his dissertation on Blengins. Here, Darger merges his discussion on the animosity of Blengins toward Glandelinians into an event that occurs at the end of the Glandeco-Abbieannian war. In the extensive revising and rearranging of his vast tome over many decades, this episode seems wrongly placed—or perhaps Darger thought it would be interesting to have a foreshadow of the end of war at this juncture in Volume 1. Here, Violet Vivian produces a whistle and summons “Rover,” a giant, dragon-headed Roverine, who is her personal “Blengiglomenean friend,” to find out why the sky is black with swarms of flying Blengins. Rover tells Violet and the other Christians they must evacuate the area, because the Blengins intend to annihilate all Glandelinians in retaliation for the harm they have done over the course of the long war. Rover informs them, “Us creatures unknown to you as yet have fearfully devastated the Glandelinian country, having wiped out all the Glandelinian armies ourselves....”

Cat 3. Cat-headed blengin (detail)

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Cat. 6 Henry Darger (American, 1892-1973). GIGANTIC ROVERINE WITH YOUNG ALL POISONOUS ALL ISLANDS OF UNIVERSAN SEAS AND OCEANS. ALSO CALVERINA ANGELINIA AND ABBIEANNIA, midtwentieth century. Watercolor, pencil and carbon tracing on pierced paper, 14 x 33 3/4 in. Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York, anonymous gift, 2001.16.4.

Photo credit: James Prinz, © American Folk Art Museum/ Art Resource, NY

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In Darger’s final unbound volume, Glandelinia surrenders, providing an official ending for Realms.

However, Darger produced an alternate version on an unnumbered page that may have been used as a provisional “ending,” perhaps intended as a threat to God until such a time as He deigned to manifest the Paroubek/Aronburg picture. This provisional text is not really an ending but, rather, a transitional page relating that the Christians are losing to the Glandelinians and pointing to an uncertain resolution in a future volume. But tucked away, as mentioned above, in Volume 1 is yet a third conclusion to the story in which the Blengins, showing no mercy toward Glandelinia, are in essence the true victors of the GlandecoAbbieannian War in the Realms of The Unreal.

(Opposite) Henry Darger (American, 1892-1973). Page 48 of The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinian War Storm, Caused by the Slave Rebellion (volume 1) (detail), between 19101912 and 1932. Ink on paper. Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York, gift of Kiyoko Lerner, 2004.1.4a.

Photo by Adam Reich, courtesy American Folk Art Museum, ©Kiyoko Lerner

Many facets of Darger’s personality can be found in his writing, and, in their own way, the texts can be as evocative and emblematic of his spirit as the drawings. His idiosyncratic manner of typing and correcting mistakes, his eccentric use of punctuation, his uncommon spellings and invented words are all fascinating to read. And they explain many, if not all, of the mysteries depicted in his visual art. By juxtaposing Darger’s art and writings, we have a rare opportunity to both see his art and read his words in one and the same viewing, affording us the most complete immersion possible into Darger’s Realms.

Michael Bonesteel is an independent writer, scholar, curator, contributing editor to Raw Vision and author of numerous publications on Henry Darger, including Henry Darger: Art and Selected Writings (Rizzoli, 2000). He was formerly adjunct assistant professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, art critic for Art in America and managing editor of the New Art Examiner.

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Cat. 4 Henry Darger (American, 1892-1973).

COLONEL JACK F EVANS, mid-twentieth century.

Watercolor, pencil, ink and collage on board, 13 3/4 x 11 1/2 in. Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York, museum purchase, 2002.22.5. Photo credit: James Prinz, © American Folk Art Museum/Art Resource, NY

(Opposite) Henry Darger (American, 1892-1973). Page 1199 of The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinian War Storm, Caused by the Slave Rebellion (volume 4) (detail), between 1910-1912 and 1932. Ink on paper. Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York, gift of Kiyoko Lerner, 2004.1.4d. Photo by Adam Reich, courtesy American Folk Art Museum, ©Kiyoko Lerner

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(Cat. 2) Henry Darger (American, 1892-1973). 18 At Norma Catherine.

But wild thunderstorm with cyclone like wind saves them, mid-twentieth century.

Watercolor, pencil, colored pencil, collage and carbon tracing on pierced paper, 19 1/8 x 47 3/4 in. Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York, museum purchase, 2002.22.2A

(Cat. 3) Henry Darger (American, 1892-1973). Cat-headed blengin, mid-twentieth century. Watercolor and pencil on Manila paper, 19 x 24 in.

Collection of Robert A. Roth

(Cat. 4) Henry Darger (American, 1892-1973). COLONEL JACK F EVANS, mid-twentieth century. Watercolor, pencil, ink and collage on board, 13 3/4 x 11 1/2 in. Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York, museum purchase, 2002.22.5

(Cat. 6) Henry Darger (American, 1892-1973). GIGANTIC ROVERINE WITH YOUNG ALL POISONOUS ALL ISLANDS OF UNIVERSAN SEAS AND OCEANS. ALSO CALVERINA ANGELINIA AND ABBIEANNIA, midtwentieth century. Watercolor, pencil and carbon tracing on pierced paper, 14 x 33 3/4 in. Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York, anonymous gift, 2001.16.4

(Cat. 7) Henry Darger (American, 1892-1973). Jennie Francis Vivian, mid-twentieth century. Watercolor and carbon transfer on paper, 26 x 18 in.

Collection of Robert A. Roth

Cat. 9 URIKLIN...(Flag of Glandelinia) Cat. 5 Untitled...(detail)

(Cat. 9) Henry Darger (American, 1892-1973). URIKLIN LA FOTLIN SACRAMENTO DE LA VIVI, GLANDELINIA (Flag of Glandelinia), mid-twentieth century. Watercolor, pencil and carbon tracing on paper, 15 x 19 in. Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York, museum purchase, 2000.25.5

(Cat. 10) Henry Darger (American, 1892-1973). Young Female Rebbonia, mid-twentieth century. Watercolor and paper on manila paper, 18 1/8 x 23 1/8 in. Collection of Robert A. Roth

exhibition checklist

(Cat. 1) Henry Darger (American, 18921973). 15 At Battle of Norma Catherine, mid-twentieth century. Watercolor and pencil on manila paper, 21 x 47 7/8 in.

Collection of Robert A. Roth

(Cat. 5) Henry Darger (American, 1892-1973). Untitled (General Bichnellian, General Tomas Federal, General Tamerline, General Meldonia Shoeman), mid-twentieth century.

Watercolor, ink and pencil on paper mounted on board, 15 1/2 x 12 in.

Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York, museum purchase, 2000.25.4

(Cat. 8) Henry Darger (American, 1892-1973). Map of forts, City of Vivian Wickey, Blengiglomenean Islands and Boy King Island, mid-twentieth century.

Graphite on paper, 13 x 12 in. Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York, museum purchase, 2003.7.15

pages reproduced in exhibition

Henry Darger (American, 1892-1973). Page 1 of The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinian War Storm, Caused by the Slave Rebellion (volume 1), between 1910-1912 and 1932. Ink on paper. Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York, gift of Kiyoko Lerner, 2004.1.4a

Henry Darger (American, 1892-1973). Page 31 of The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinian War Storm, Caused by the Slave Rebellion (volume 1), between 1910-1912 and 1932. Ink on paper. Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York, gift of Kiyoko Lerner, 2004.1.4a

Henry Darger (American, 1892-1973). Page 34 of The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinian War Storm, Caused by the Slave Rebellion (volume 1), between 1910-1912 and 1932. Ink on paper. Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York, gift of Kiyoko Lerner, 2004.1.4a

Henry Darger (American, 1892-1973). Page 42 of The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinian War Storm, Caused by the Slave Rebellion (volume 1), between 1910-1912 and 1932. Ink on paper. Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York, gift of Kiyoko Lerner, 2004.1.4a

Henry Darger (American, 1892-1973). Page 48 of The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinian War Storm, Caused by the Slave Rebellion (volume 1), between 1910-1912 and 1932. Ink on paper. Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York, gift of Kiyoko Lerner, 2004.1.4a

Henry Darger (American, 1892-1973). Page 540 of The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinian War Storm, Caused by the Slave Rebellion (volume 1), between 1910-1912 and 1932. Ink on paper. Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York, gift of Kiyoko Lerner, 2004.1.4a

Henry Darger (American, 1892-1973). Page 541 of The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinian War Storm, Caused by the Slave Rebellion (volume 1), between 1910-1912 and 1932. Ink on paper. Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York, gift of Kiyoko Lerner, 2004.1.4a

Henry Darger (American, 1892-1973). Page 123 of The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinian War Storm, Caused by the Slave Rebellion (volume 3), between 1910-1912 and 1932. Ink on paper. Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York, gift of Kiyoko Lerner, 2004.1.4c

Henry Darger (American, 1892-1973). Page 529 (527) of The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinian War Storm, Caused by the Slave Rebellion (volume 3), between 1910-1912 and 1932. Ink on paper. Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York, gift of Kiyoko Lerner, 2004.1.4c

Henry Darger (American, 1892-1973).

Page 1284 (797 or 127) of The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinian War Storm, Caused by the Slave Rebellion (volume 3), between 1910-1912 and 1932.

Ink on paper. Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York, gift of Kiyoko Lerner, 2004.1.4c

Henry Darger (American, 1892-1973). Page 1199 of The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinian War Storm, Caused by the Slave Rebellion (volume 4), between 1910-1912 and 1932. Ink on paper. Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York, gift of Kiyoko Lerner, 2004.1.4d

Henry Darger (American, 1892-1973). Page 1198 of The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinian War Storm, Caused by the Slave Rebellion (volume 4), between 1910-1912 and 1932. Ink on paper. Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York, gift of Kiyoko Lerner, 2004.1.4d

Henry Darger (American, 1892-1973). Page 3a (2256) of The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinian War Storm, Caused by the Slave Rebellion (unbound; volume 12cf.

JM, or volume 7), between 1910-1912 and 1932. Ink on paper. Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York, gift of Kiyoko Lerner, 2004.1.4m

Henry Darger (American, 1892-1973). Page 3b (2257) of The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinian War Storm, Caused by the Slave Rebellion (unbound; volume 12cf.

JM, or volume 7), between 1910-1912 and 1932. Ink on paper. Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York, gift of Kiyoko Lerner, 2004.1.4m

Henry Darger (American, 1892-1973). Page 7-287 (2634 and 627) of The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinian War Storm, Caused by the Slave Rebellion (unbound; volume 12cf.JM, or volume 7), between 1910-1912 and 1932. Ink on paper. Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York, gift of Kiyoko Lerner, 2004.1.4m

henry darger’s collection

at the american folk art museum

By Valérie Rousseau, PhD, curator, self-taught art and art brut, American Folk Art Museum

Henry Darger (1892–1973) stands as one of America’s greatest artists of the twentieth century,

represented in major private and museum collections. His distinctive art, which transcends categorization, has been influential to generations of artists. The American Folk Art Museum (AFAM) in New York became the largest public repository of Darger’s work—a unique and treasured collection, amassed from gifts and purchases beginning in 1995, that reveals the magnitude of his mastery of expression and the scope of his creative process.

This trove is comprised of his unpublished manuscripts —a five thousand-page autobiography

(The History of My Life); a six-volume weather report journal (dated 1957 to 1967); a 15,145-page epic that echoes events of the American Civil War titled The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What Is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinian War Storm, Caused by the Child Slave Rebellion (thirteen bound and unbound handwritten and typescript volumes, possibly written between 1911 and 1938–39); a large planning journal in which Darger kept track of thousands of characters, battles, deaths, and events related to the previous novel; and a manuscript titled Further Adventures in Chicago: Crazy House (sixteen bound and unbound volumes started in 1939). The collection also includes more than sixty artworks depicting scenes and figures mainly affiliated with the journey of the Vivian Girls, the seven princesses of Abbieannia. Among these are double-sided, scroll-like watercolors (which Darger had originally bounded into three large scrapbooks totaling more than three hundred sheets) and collages made of childrens book cuttings, newspaper fragments, and stamps. In addition, there are more than one hundred studies and sketches, Darger’s visual and source materials, personal records, and the artist’s personal book library.

substantial collection has been the subject of exponentially growing AFAM’s

attention, generating countless scholarly studies, international collaborations with institutions and artists, and exhibitions at the museum—a 2018 presentation will highlight intrinsic and structural aspects of Darger’s narratives.

Founded in 1991, Intuit is one of the premier museums in the world dedicated to presenting outsider art. Outsider art is created by artists who are motivated by their unique personal visions and demonstrate little or no influence from the mainstream art world. The museum’s mission—celebrating the power of outsider art—is grounded in the ethos that the instinct to create is universal and the arts must embrace, represent and be accessible to all, regardless of education level or socioeconomic status.

about intuit:

the center for

intuitive and outsider art

In spring 2000, Intuit took possession of the contents of artist Henry Darger’s living and working space, which was located at 851 W. Webster Street in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood.

Darger lived in the one-room apartment until 1973 when he retired to a nursing facility. In his small room—which doubled as his studio and home for close to 40 years—he worked on a large number of painted and collaged drawings that illustrated the story of the Vivian Girls, created volumes of writings, and collected hundreds of objects (shoes, eyeglasses, balls of string, etc.).

Opened in 2008, Intuit’s permanent exhibit of the Henry

Darger Room Collection creates an environment that provides a window onto Darger’s world. The archive includes tracings, clippings from newspapers, magazines, comic books, cartoons, children’s books, coloring books, personal documents, and architectural elements, fixtures and furnishings from Darger’s original room. The installation symbolizes the stark contrasts that are so vividly portrayed in Darger’s vast and complex oeuvre. The contrast between the intimate scale of the room and the staggering volume of drawings, illustrations, writings and collections conveys vital information about Darger’s existence and the work he created.

Many thanks to Kiyoko Lerner for her generous gift of the contents of Henry Darger’s room to Intuit.

This catalog was produced in conjunction with the exhibition:

Henry Darger: Author/Artist January 20-May 29, 2017 Curated by Michael Bonesteel

Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art 756 N. Milwaukee Avenue Chicago, Illinois 60622 312.243.9088 | intuit@art.org Copyright 2017 Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or any means, mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording or otherwise without written permission from the publisher.

All works by Henry Darger © 2017 Kiyoko Lerner / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

ISBN: 978-0-9990010-2-8

Intuit thanks its many supporters, including the American Folk Art Museum, Alphawood Foundation Chicago, City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events, Crown Family Philanthropies, Duane Morris, The Field Foundation of Illinois, Illinois Arts Council Agency, Ingenuity, The MacArthur Funds for Arts and Culture at The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, Maine Community Foundation, Polk Bros Foundation, Southwest Airlines, and Terra Foundation for American Art.

Special thanks to the American Folk Art Museum, New York, for its generous loans of Henry Darger artworks and archives.

Cover: Cat. 10 Young Female Rebbonia (detail) Inside front cover: Henry Darger (American, 1892-1973). Page 3a (2256) of The Story of the

Vivian Girls in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinian War Storm, Caused by the Slave Rebellion (unbound; volume 12cf.JM, or volume 7) (detail), between 1910-1912 and 1932.

Ink on paper. Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York, gift of Kiyoko Lerner, 2004.1.4m.

Photo by Adam Reich, courtesy American Folk Art Museum, ©Kiyoko Lerner

Inside back cover: Henry Darger (American, 1892-1973). Page 3b (2257) of The Story of the Vivian Girls in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinian War Storm, Caused by the Slave Rebellion (unbound; volume 12cf.JM, or volume 7) (detail), between 1910-1912 and 1932. Ink on paper. Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York, gift of Kiyoko Lerner, 2004.1.4m. Photo by Adam Reich, courtesy American Folk Art Museum, ©Kiyoko Lerner Back cover: (Cat. 8) Henry Darger (American, 1892-1973). Map of forts, City of Vivian Wickey, Blengiglomenean Islands and Boy King Island (detail), mid-twentieth century. Graphite on paper, 13 x 12 in. Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York, museum purchase, 2003.7.15.

Photo credit: James Prinz, © American Folk Art Museum/Art Resource, NY

design by Katherine Gorman

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