The Henry Darger Room Collection
at Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art
In 1999, when Henry Darger’s room at 851 West Webster Street was to be demolished, Intuit committed to saving as many artifacts as possible, to create a place to honor Darger’s extraordinary artistic legacy in the city where he lived and worked. In January 2008 Intuit opened the Henry Darger Room Collection, a permanent room appointed with architectural features and furniture from Darger’s room, and a dense array of Darger’s art supplies, source materials, and other collections. Anchoring the room, the fireplace mantel holds personal and devotional objects and is flanked by Darger’s portraits of the Vivian Girls, his muses and the heroines of his epic novel, In The Realms Of The Unreal. Darger’s combined home/studio had been work of art in itself, filled to the brim with source materials that were integral to his extraordinary visual work. Evoking the intimate scale and dense setting of his original room, in a space imitative of its feeling and features, this room offers a portal into Darger’s remarkable, innovative creative process. The Henry Darger Room Collection is conveniently adjacent to the Robert A. Roth Study Center, Intuit’s extensive library and archival holdings relating to outsider art, including microfiche copies of all of Darger’s writings, and a range of Darger archival materials not on view during Intuit’s regular hours. Admission is free. Researchers seeking access to archival materials are encouraged to make advance appointments. For information: 312. 243-9088. [email protected], http://art.org/
