Gorey's Worlds Book

Gorey was an inveterate collector--he called it "accumulating." A variety of objects shaped his artistic mindset, from works of popular culture to the more than twenty-six thousand books he owned and the art pieces in his vast collection. This collection, which Gorey left to the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art upon his death, is diverse in style, subject, and media, and includes prints by Eugene Delacroix, Charles Meryon, Edvard Munch, and Odilon Redon; photographs by Eug?ne Atget; and drawings by Balthus, Pierre Bonnard, Charles Burchfield, Bill Traylor, and ƒdouard Vuillard. As this book shows, these artistic pieces present a visual riddle, as the connections between themÑto each other and to Gorey's worksÑare significant and enigmatic. The essays in Gorey's Worlds also examine the artist's consuming passions for animals and ballet.

Featuring a sumptuous selection of Gorey's creations alongside his fascinating and diverse collections, Gorey's Worlds reveals the private world that inspired one of the most idiosyncratic artists of the twentieth century.

Witten by Erin Monroe, with contributions by Robert Greskovic, Arnold Arluke & Kevin Shortsleeve

Hardcover, 160 pp. 8 1/4 x 9 1/4 94 color + 22 b/w illus.

Exhibition Schedule: Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, February 10 - May 6, 2018