A Visit to the Edward Gorey House

This past week, Bill and I made a visit the Edward Gorey House Museum in Yarmouthport, MA. The 2015 show focuses on Edward Gorey's self published Fantod Press books, and is on display through the end of the year.

Once again, Edward Gorey House director Rick Jones and his staff have done an exceptional job displaying pieces for the exhibition. Every room contains hundreds of objects, each with a story that can be related by the extremely knowledgeable docents - the day we visited, a gentleman named Charles was a delightful and informative companion as we walked through the show. The depth of material and information found in this year's exhibit is second to none.

Upon entering the House, visitors are greeted by a delightful Fantod Under Glass who presides over the exhibition and was created specially for the show. The first two cases you encounter on either side of this colorful fellow are worth the price of admission in themselves.

Edward Gorey created the Fantod Press to self publish The Beastly Baby, a title he was shopping around and which no publisher wanted to touch...much like the Baby itself! These original drawings are rarely seen and are unexpectedly larger in person than their printed versions - a rarity since Mr. Gorey usually drew art at the size he intended for publication. A small sculptural Baby which once belonged to Mr. Gorey is included in the case.

The display on the other side of the Fantod shows artwork from The Chinese Obelisks. On exhibit in this case is an actual mummy's hand which belonged to Edward Gorey and inspired several creepy drawings.

Edward Gorey's home has many rooms with twists, turns, nooks, and crannies which lend themselves to intimate display areas. The small scale of the original art on display is never overwhelmed by the space, and there is something to see in every corner. The interactive layout of the exhibitions also allows for multiple viewers to be in the spaces and still feel as through the show is there "just for them".

In addition to the Fantod displays, there are exhibits of other aspects of Edward Gorey's career. Of particular interest is the large (in terms of material) display showcasing Edward Gorey's relationship with Dracula. The Dracula material includes original artwork from an unfinished illustrated version of the novel, artwork, photographs, and Mr. Gorey's Tony Award from the Broadway production and original art used for the Dracula Toy Theater. The piece of artwork from the Toy Theater has to be one of the largest and most awe-inspiring pieces of original Gorey artwork I have ever seen in person.

Below is a photo of director Rick Jones with myself in Edward Gorey's kitchen, a room that contains a display of personal and interesting objects which Mr. Gorey collected and actually had arranged on his counter tops.

The 2015 show continues on weekends through the end of the year, and is not to be missed.