Edward Gorey: History of an Eccentric Creator
While styles of artists like Tim Burton, Laika Studios, and Neil Gaiman are widely known, it's notable to me that the adoration for Edward Gorey's distinctive style doesn't always receive the same level of recognition.
Gorey began drawing at 18 months (!) and taught himself to read by age three. He skipped several grades and engaged in various school activities and publications, he left Francis Parker School with high scores, earning scholarships both to Harvard and Yale. At 17, with pending WWII draft notices, Gorey briefly studied art at the Art Institute of Chicago before joining the U.S. Army during World War II, serving until after the war's end, mainly at the Dugway Proving Grounds in Utah.
In 1946, Edward Gorey enrolled at Harvard, majoring in French Literature, and delved into various artistic pursuits, including publishing stories, poems, designing sets, and directing for the Poets Theatre. Despite somehow ending up on both the Dean's List and under constant threats of expulsion, he excelled. In 1953, upon being offered a position at Doubleday Anchor in New York City, Gorey became a prominent figure in design, illustrating over fifty covers and gaining recognition as a major commercial illustrator. After stints at other publishing houses, he turned freelance in the early 1960s, illustrating well over five hundred books for others while also crafting his own works. His career began with the 1953 book "The Unstrung Harp," a precursor to graphic novels, praised by Graham Greene and recognized as a "minor masterpiece" by The London Times. Edmund Wilson's acclaim in The New Yorker marked the start of Gorey's exceptional fifty-year career, resulting in 116 written and illustrated works.
From displaying art at the Francis Parker School in 1939 to showcasing at the Mandrake Bookshop during his Harvard years and even as far as California, Edward Gorey's artistic journey was expansive. In 1967, Gotham Book Mart invited Gorey to exhibit at its newly opened second-floor art gallery, a collaboration that spanned thirty-two years. This partnership led to occasional publications of new Gorey works by Gotham Book Mart and collaborations with figures like Samuel Beckett and John Updike. Gorey's love for theater blossomed into involvement in off-Broadway productions, summer Cape Cod plays, and the 1973 design of "Dracula" for a Nantucket theater. The Broadway adaptation, "Edward Gorey’s Dracula," opened in 1977, achieving immense success, earning two Tony Awards, running for nearly three years, and touring globally.
Having frequented Cape Cod for years, Gorey's connection to the region deepened in 1979 when he used royalties from the New York Dracula production to acquire a two-century-old sea captain's home in Yarmouth Port. By 1983, he made the decision to bid farewell to New York City and establish his residence on the Cape. Amidst this shift, Gorey intensified his involvement in small experimental plays, maintained an active presence in publishing, art exhibitions, etching creations, and juggled a demanding workload of commercial projects. In 1980, he was commissioned to design animated introductions for Boston Public Television's Mystery! series, a collaborative effort with animator Derek Lamb that remains an enduring testament to Gorey's artistic legacy, encapsulating the essence of several of his works in a concise half-minute.
Gorey, known for maintaining the mystery and refusing to "explain" his books, revealed a glimpse into his philosophical inclinations during a single interview. When pressed about his beliefs, he identified as a Taoist, leaning towards surrealism. Examining his early teen art unveils evident influences from Di Chirico, Dali, and Ernst
Edward Gorey's multifaceted body of work, encompassing humor, complexity, seriousness, and provocation, has solidified his position as a significant American figure in literature, art, and theater that should always be remembered!