Gorey, Edward

Related Category: American Art: Biographies

1925–2000, American illustrator and writer, b. Chicago, grad Harvard. He lived and worked in New York City and Cape Cod until 1986 when he moved permanently to the Cape. Gorey is celebrated for his more than 100 small volumes of gothic fables, meticulously hand-lettered and intricately illustrated, most of them in verse. His works are remarkable combinations of the eccentric, the witty, and the macabre and are illustrated lavishly and with superb technique in dark and abundant Edwardian detail. Odd, mysterious, cool, oblique, and very funny, Gorey's works have a completely unique appeal. Many of his early books, published in small editions, have become collector's items; they include The Unstrung Harp (1953) and The Object-Lesson (1958). His later single works include The Awdrey-Gore Legacy (1972), a spoof on English murder mysteries; The Lavender Leotard (1973), concerning ballet; Amphigorey (1975); Amphigorey Too (1980); Amphigorey Also (1983); and The Eclectic Abecedarium (1985).

See the interviews in Ascending Peculiarity: Edward Gorey on Edward Gorey (2001), ed. by K. Wilkin.