Artworks

Henry Darger (1892-1973)

Artist Henry Darger, spent most of his life working as a janitor at Catholic hospitals in the Chicago area. However, in the privacy of his small rented room, Darger lived within an entirely different universe, populated by fictional children, winged creatures and evil adult Glandelinians. Outside of his day job, Darger spent his time writing and illustrating a 15,000 page saga about this world, entitled “The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, or the Glandeco-Angelinnian War Storm, Caused by the Child Slave Rebellion.” The manuscript includes over 300 watercolors and collages, depicting the adventures of seven young heroines, the Vivian Girls, as they lead the rebellion against the child-enslaving Glandelians. Darger’s large, colorful scenes convey a series of moods, from that of light, joyful innocence, to the pain and suffering of war. His world was fully realized, with fictional locations, governments, and battles. 

After Darger’s artistic discovery, he became one of the first outsider artists to achieve mainstream success. His works are held in numerous museums and collections throughout the world, and his legacy remains that of a storyteller beyond comparison.