Product Description

This volume presents the work of Edward Gorey, the American artist and writer perhaps best known for his witty opening credits for PBS's "Myster!" series and for such books as "Amphigorey", "The Doubtful Guest" and "The Unstrung Heart". Gorey, who died in 2000 at the age of 75 had a loyal following for many books - cherished for their dark humour, hand-lettered tests and spooky pen-and-ink drawings of an Edwardian world. In this volume an informative interview with Clifford Ross, an artist and a long-time friend of Gorey, introduces the reader to Gorey himself. Art critic Karen Wilkin discusses Gorey's style and sets it in the context of narrative art and popular culture.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #160418 in Books
• Published on: 2002-11-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

About the Author
Clifford Ross, a painter and photographer, is the author of Phantasmagorey: The Work of Edward Gorey (now OP) and the editor of Abrams' Abstract Expressionism: Creators and Critics (also OP). Karen Wilkin is a curator, art critic, and the author of several monographs on contemporary artists.

Customer Reviews

A is for Amy who fell down the stairs
If you like Edward Gorey then you really owe it to yourself to get a copy of this very fine book. The authors, Clifford Ross and Karen Wilkin are artist and art critic, respectively. Ross begins the book with an interview with Edward Gorey himself in which they talk about other painters (Matisse, Albert York, Picasso, Manet and Max Ernst in particular); Surrealism; the creative process (included are a number of sketches and notes for finished drawings); Gorey's theater pieces; fiction; and television. Wilkin's piece follows next in which she discusses the "band of crypto-Edwardians" that appear so many of Gorey's books as compared to the illustrations he does for books by other authors, for Mystery Theater and for the stage, opera, theater and ballet. She has a very interesting perspective on Gorey's work within both historical and cultural contexts. The second half of the book contains numerous drawings and designs followed by a chronology of Gorey's life (rich with photographs of his home, including one of his cats) and a bibliography. A very interesting book. The only thing I would have added is a section on the Gorey cats (the ones that grace the Amphigorey books).

Expected more
I love Edward Gorey`s work and hoped that this book would have some insightful things to say about his books and illustrtions. I was rather disappointed. The interview is neither insightful nor particularly illuminating and the essay, although more engaging than the interview, is hardly spectacular either! It is a very aesthetically pleasing book as it contains many prints of Gorey's work but the writing merely tells you what you already know. Just stick to the original texts I say.