Drawn From the Home of Henry Darger
December 22, 2007 through March 16, 2008
The Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago
Chicago, Illinois
(773) 702-0200

This exhibition examines the source materials and artistic process of Henry Darger, a reclusive and self-taught artist who did not gain recognition until after his death in 1973. Born in Chicago in 1892, Darger lived a solitary life in a one-bedroom apartment on the city’s North Side. He collected and catalogued a diverse assortment of objects—from balls of string and Pepto-Bismol bottles to children’s books, comics, and magazines—which he used as inspiration for much of his work.

Anchored by two double-sided collage and watercolor drawings, the exhibition features excerpts from Darger’s massive tale The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What Is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of Glandeco-Angelinian War Storm, Caused by the Child Slave Rebellion—commonly referred to as In the Realms of the Unreal. This work, begun in 1910 and spanning more than 17,000 single-spaced typed pages, took Darger more than 20 years to complete and provided the foundation for all his art. The book is illustrated with more than 300 drawings and mural-size collages that employ tracing, carbon copying, and graphite drawings. It tells the story of the seven Vivian sisters as they fight battles in a war of good versus evil.

“Drawn From the Home of Henry Darger” pairs examples of the artist’s work with a selection of source material, such as samples of coloring books and paint kits, loose clippings of comics, and scrapbooks. Photographs of his apartment are also on view, revealing the connections between source materials, his surroundings, and his art, and offering an intimate glimpse into the reclusive artist’s life and working process.

[Th]ey Awake to Find Themselves Really in Peril From Exploding Shells Hitting Their Prison at Norma Catherine / But Again Escape / Capture Enemy’s Plans by Henry Darger, ca. 1950, watercolor and graphite. Collection Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.	Second Day Northwest at Jennie Richee Are Captured by General Federals Glan-deliniam Near Aronbury Run River. by Henry Darger, ca. 1950, watercolor, graphite, and newspaper collage on paper. Collection Smart Museum of Art, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.