Plunger Artwork

 

The recent Illustration Art auction at Swann Auction Galleries offered six lots of original artwork by Edward Gorey. The lots represented three distinct drawing styles practiced by Mr. Gorey - the classic finely detailed pen & ink drawing, a loose watercolor painting style, and Mr. Gorey's "cartoon" style.

Edward Gorey often worked in the cartoon style for pieces that would appear in magazines, poster designs, and newspapers. The look is bold and less detailed than his traditional drawing style for a reason - these images would be printed smaller or considerably larger than the artwork itself and for the image to "read" properly the details are simplified. The cartoon style often includes shots of bright watercolor details that would make the image "pop" on the page.

Two pieces included in the sale were (most likely) created for The Harvard Review. Each drawing shows formally attired people with brightly colored plungers presumably covering holes in the floor and walls. The first drawing shows a man and a woman working to plug up holes in a confined space, while in the second two couples are being menaced by giant snakes as they work. The attire and look of the people in both drawings calls to mind 1960's British "mod" fashions which Edward Gorey often used to costume people in his magazine illustrations. The first, smaller vertical drawing is now in my personal collection.