Edward Gorey
Edward Gorey, p. 42 from Rumpelstiltskin, retold by Edith H. Tarcov, Scholastic Books, 1973, pen and ink on paper, Courtesy Gotham Book Mart Gallery, New York City, Copyright Edward Gorey
Edward Gorey was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1925. In 1953 he moved to New York to work for Doubleday Books as a staff artist. That same year, he published his first book, The Unstrung Harp, which demonstrated the distinctive style and characteristically humorous, yet sinister subject matter that he has become known for. Gorey now resides on Cape Cod, where he continues to work in the style which has become familiar through his series of Amphigory collections, his set and costume designs for the theater, and his animated title sequence for the PBS series Mystery!
Gorey's drawings, with their deadpan humor and air of mystique, have often been compared to the works of Surrealist artists such as Magritte and de Chirico. Indeed, he credits Max Ernst for providing the prototype of his celebrated Figbash, a creature whose adaptable shape enables it to form letters of the alphabet. He also derives inspiration from eclectic and diverse sources such as: British satire, classic novels, cartoons, the New York City Ballet, and sitcom reruns. Gorey's meticulous pen and ink cross-hatching and tendency toward the macabre are recognizable whether he is illustrating his own books or those of other artists.
