The Sequences of Henry Darger
1892 - 1973

Henry Darger’s lifetime achievement was an epic tale of good and evil, told through the eyes of the Vivian Girls: bi-gendered child slaves, who trump their adult overlords through cunning, persistence and bravery.

Darger’s illustrations were originally bound into books, placed in sequences, then developed and expanded throughout the author’s life. However, upon his death, the pages were sliced apart, and sold or gifted into various collections. The original context and meaning was all but destroyed.

In 2009, The Museum of Everything was the first institution to return the disassociated artworks back to their original order. Our research, evidence and exhibitions proved, beyond doubt, that the drawings formed a continuous and coherent visual narrative.

To mark the anniversaries of the birth and death of this monumental image-maker, The Museum of Everything now presents - for the first time online - several sequences of re-assembled artworks in the original order.