Edward Gorey-
Process , Practice and Significance
American Illustrator Edward Gorey (1925-2000) was a well known figure in illustration who is most likely recognized for his surreal and mostly macabre images produced for a range of media such as Children's and Literary nonsense books , stage design and television credits .
Having written at least 90 books and illustrated around 60 other works, ranging from Charles Dickens to Edward Leer , Gorey made himself known in the book illustration world by his unique and recognizable style only made better by a very wild imagination and flare for storytelling.
After his brief semester in Art College, he spent a few years (1944-6) in the Army as a clerk at the Dugway Proving Ground in Utah before attending Harvard University form 1946-50 where he majored in French .
His first encounter with illustration, book design and publishing was in 1953 when Gorey made the move to New York where he obtained a place in the art department of Doubleday Anchor Books where he worked for 8 years, however his true passion was creating his own stories which he could then illustrate and breathe life into, his work was often left aside though, being misread as ghoulish and too morbid and for many years his work remained unpublished until 1953 when his book 'The Unstrung Harp' was published .
[2] extract and image from “The Unstrung Harp”
From there, Edward Gorey’s work became more recognisable as his own style morphed into the surreal images we associate him with, starting with ‘The Doubtful Guest’ being published in 1957, launching him into the industry and gaining him recognition as an illustrator .
[3] Image from “The Doubtful Guest”
Gorey's style is very recognizable because of the way he illustrated his subjects and the amount of detail he would place into his work. He would spend a lot of time on pieces and making sure they were just right, the amount of time and patience used to create each image can easily be seen. Gorey had a specialist technique of mark making which makes his work hark back to an older period of Victorian lithographs and prints, the line work for his images were so consistent and precise that its hard to tell where he may have started or ended inking the piece, showing extreme control and passion for his work corey would produce the most incredible textures and backgrounds for his subjects to interact with, once again harking back to victorian etchings and the arts and crafts movement of the late 19th century , his influences such as Vermeer and Edward Leer seeping through to create some spectacular images. Each image he produced would be carefully planned and design played a huge role in his work with oaf of detail on the smallest of things like ornaments and wallpaper or the fabric of a dress, he was also very skilled with hand lettering and would often letter the book covers and his work himself so add a more personal quality to the images .
The majority of Gorey's work was completed in pen and ink and most likely from nib pens and ink pots as well as radiograph pens, most of his well known work was in black and white but he would also colour images with paint in simple colours, this contrasts his other work as for the coloured images there is little need for an extensive attention to the texture of garments unlike his black and white images where every stroke of ink would count as a stitch shown in the examples below.
[2] 1953 edition of Lafcadio's Adventures by André Gide- originally Pen , ink and Paint illustration
[3] Image from “The Gashlycrumb Tinies” (1963) - pen and ink
Gorey also made several etchings and prints so that his work could be distributed and reprinted for his books, he did however made some limited prints of many of his work which are now very valuable.
He is known to have worked on scores of books, many of them quite short and many were limited edition and very hard to find , they were made even more difficult to collect as Gorey was a fan of anagrams and word games and many of his books were published under pseudonyms of his name , including Eduard Blutig, Ogdred Weary, D.Awdrey-Gore and Dewda Yorger. However, some of his work has been reprinted in a collection of books known as the “Amphigorey” series .
As well as working on both writing and illustration for books , Gorey also dabbled in other media, becoming quite well known through the animated titles for the PBS series titled 'Mystery!' which was hosted by Vincent price and introduced Americans to the television adaptations to Sherlock Holmes and Miss Marple series in the 1980's , The credits were based on Gorey's drawings and then animated by Derek Lamb, Eugene Federenko and Janet Pearlman [6]. Goreys work really lends itself to this title sequence and helps create the mysterious and surreal ambience that comes with crime and mystery adaptions. This was not the only time that he was able to spread his artistic talent to other media, in 1977 Gorey was asked to produce costume and scenic designs for the Broadway Production of "Dracula" which resulted with him being awarded a Tony award for his costume design and a nomination for his Scenic Design. He was incredibly humble about this particular piece of work but had some experience in the field with him helping to write and directing evening long entertainment nights and participating in amateur productions near his home in Yarnmouth Port, Massachusetts, Cape Cod as well as as another production on broadway what he was involved in titled "Gorey Stories".
He was also an avid attendee of the New York City ballet, attending performances regularly and produced posters and buttons for them as well as producing books featuring ballet dancers, when asked about how he got into a liking of ballet Gorey said " What first impelled me to go was the decor. I was interested in art and wanted to see the sets and costumes. I just went once when the Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo came to Chicago in 1937, and they did a ballet called "Bacchanale." with sets by Salvador Dali. I thought he was the cat's ass at the time, so I went- and I just sort of kept going" [7]
His work is often classified as 'Gothic' and primarily for Children but this is not really the case , as Alexander Theroux states in his book, "Gorey's is an unclassifiable genre: not really children's books , neither comic books nor art stills," [8] and I would agree with this , Gorey's work seems to hark back and pay homage to the late Victorian and Edwardian period , with dark broody characters in period clothing or sporting fur coats.
The most apt description of Gorey’s work in my opinion can be found in Victor Kennedy’ s paper ‘Mystery ! Unraveling Edward Gorey’s tangled web of visual metaphor’, where he states that Gorey’s “ macabre pen and ink re-creations of a bygone world are fundamentally iconic. His fur-coated and bearded men, lissome and forlorn women, unfortunate children, and a bestiary of grotesquse monsters evoke a fascinating and nightmarish version of late 20th-century fears and preoccupations” [9]His work was indeed macabre and the darker side of Gorey’s nature does sometimes come through in his work , but in a seemingly playful and mysterious way which intrigues the reader to really look at the work as the detailed quality of the work makes the reader dwell over the piece looking for tiny details and marks.
Many of his work featured children which is probably why he was often mistaken for a children's illustrator, however many people will tell you that many of his books would be unsuitable for children due to the morbid and dark themes and what fates befall some of his characters, a perfect example of this is one of Gorey's more well known works " The Gashlycrumb Tinies" or "After the Outing" , this abecedarian book tells the story of 26 children , each name representing a letter of the alphabet and how they come to untimely and sometimes grisly ends, this particular book was published in 1963 and is still considered to be one of Gorey's most popular works.
His work has been the subject to many physiological analysis from academics and critics alike who “have searched for deep meaning in his often obsessive crosshatching in the backgrounds of his drawings, in his subject matter, which often seems firmly preoccupied with death, or in his uneasy relationship with his doting mother as keys to understanding his art." [10], many have pondered over some of his work to try to determine what he may have been thinking when drawing certain images , but I think Gorey would have found this necessary and would probably have been puzzled was to why this was so .
[8] Cover image for ‘The Gashlycrumb Tinies’ (1963)
Even after his death in 2000, Goreys work continues to have a significant effect on today's world, his work is still distributed and collected so that future generations can appreciate his talents. His drawings are timeless with a surreal quality to them, something that makes them stand out from other artists in this field at the time .
Goreys work is generated a great following of fans spanning ages and nationalities and his work has inspired many, from fellow illustrators and artists to film directors, novelists and performers, some show this more than others, for example people like Tim Burton , Shaun Tan , Kambriel, Neil Geiman and Daniel Handler the author of Lemony Snicket's series of Unfortunate Events" . All of these people have shown to have been inspired by Gorey and some have stated this while others pay a subtle homage to his style in their own work .
Edward Gorey was foremost and illustrator and author but his work would sometimes branch into a form of surreal art . His work lends itself quite well to art forms such as film and television, art and clothing because of his highly visual style and surreal quality and this is probably why he is still a well known influence for filmmakers, artists and novelists as well as being a huge influence of gothic culture, with whole events being dedicated to his life and work such as the Edwardian Ball and Faire in San Francisco and Los Angeles which has now became an international event and is backed by the Edward Gorey Charitable Trust.
Elephant House or Edward Gorey House is a museum at his old home in Cape Cod, the unique house "displays his diverse and extraordinary talents and reflects his distinct personality."[12] and who's mission is " to educate and inspire its visitors, offering a unique introduction to Edward Gorey, the artist and person."[13] . The house holds various exhibitions and events to celebrate Gorey's life and work as well as provide a time capsule for the public into his life at Elephant House . Another insight into this aspect came to light in the form of Kevin Mcdermotts photography book based on Elephant House and Edward Gorey, this book gave fans more personal look into Gorey’s personal life and workspace [14]
One thing is certain though, Gorey's work seems to be just as popular and relevant now as it was when he was alive, his work may herald back to an earlier period of history that he might not necessarily was apart of but it represents a homage to its values and its culture which helps preserve it so to speak. His work is so unique and distinguishable that once you know of Gorey, you will most certainly begin to look into his life and work , both extremely quirky and eccentric but equally charming.
His limericks and verses still make you laugh, weather its your first time reading it or your tenth time , you always notice something new in his illustrations and its fantastic to see how he moulded his own style from his early works like "The Listing Attic' to his more memorable work for 'The Object Lesson'.
[5] Image from "The Gashlycrumb Tinies" by Edward Gorey , Bloomsbury Publishing (1998)
[7] quote from Edward Gorey when interviewed for his book " Gorey Posters"
[8] Quote from "The Strange Case Of Edward Gorey" by Alexander Theroux (2000), , Fantagraphics Books
[9] Quote from Victor Kennedy’s academic essay Kennedy, V 1993, 'Mystery! Unraveling Edward Gorey's Tangled Web of Visual Metaphor', Metaphor & Symbolic Activity, 8, 3, p. 181, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, EBSCOhost, viewed 6 December 2012.- can be viewed online at
http://ehis.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=967cf797-4034-486c-be61-37f174e2771d%40sessionmgr115&vid=5&hid=114
http://ehis.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=967cf797-4034-486c-be61-37f174e2771d%40sessionmgr115&vid=5&hid=114
[10] extract from Interview with Edward Gorey for his work on PBS MYSTERY! :http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/mystery/gorey.html
[11] The cover image for "The Gashlycrumb Tinies" by Edward Gorey , Bloomsbury Publishing (1998) ,
-Gorey, Edward.“Gorey Posters”. n.p.: Harry N. Abrams Inc, 1979, 1979. , ISBN 0810921790, page 6
-Theroux , Alexander (2000), "The Strange Case Of Edward Gorey" , Fantagraphics Books, ISBN 1560973854, Page 7
-Kennedy, V 1993, 'Mystery! Unraveling Edward Gorey's Tangled Web of Visual Metaphor', Metaphor & Symbolic Activity, 8, 3, p. 181, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, EBSCOhost. page 181 - online academic journal - http://ehis.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=967cf797-4034-486c-be61-37f174e2771d%40sessionmgr115&vid=5&hid=114
