Henry Darger, Throwaway Boy: The Tragic Life of an Outsider Artist

While some art historians tend to dismiss Darger as possibly psychotic Jim Elledge cuts through the cloud of controversy and rediscovers Darger as a damaged and fearful gay man raised in a world unaware of the consequences of child abuse or gay shame. This thoughtful sympathetic biography tells the true story of a tragically misunderstood artist. Drawn from fascinating histories of the vice-ridden districts of 1900s Chicago tens of thousands of pages of primary source material and Elledges own work in queer history Henry Darger Throwaway Boy also features a full-color reproduction of a never-before-seen canvas from a private gallery in New York as well as a previously undiscovered photograph of Darger with his lifelong companion William Schloeder or "Whillie" as Henry affectionately referred to him. Engaging arresting and ultimately illuminating Henry Darger Throwaway Boy brings alive a complex brave and compelling man whose outsider art is both challenging and a triumph over trauma.