He also felt compelled to make unusual noises. ĭarger himself felt that much of his problem was being able to see through adult lies and becoming a "smart-aleck" as a result, which often led to his being punished by teachers and ganged up on by classmates. According to John MacGregor, the diagnosis was actually "self-abuse", a euphemism for masturbation. After bad behavior, he was relocated to the Illinois Asylum for Feeble-Minded Children in Lincoln, Illinois, also called the Lincoln State School (today the Lincoln Developmental Center), with the diagnosis, according to Stephen Prokopoff, that "little Henry's heart is not in the right place". Because of his apparent intellect, the young Darger had been enrolled in public school at the third grade level after his father's hospitalization, Darger was moved to the Mission of Our Lady of Mercy, a Roman Catholic orphanage. They lived together until 1900, when his father was taken to St. was a tailor with disabilities, and his poor health made caring for his son difficult. īy Darger's own account, his father was kind and reassuring to him. MacGregor, discovered that Rosa had two children before Henry, but did not discover their whereabouts. : 36–37 One of his biographers, the art historian and psychologist John M. When he was four years old, his mother died of puerperal fever after giving birth to a daughter, who was given up for adoption Darger never knew his sister. : 32–33 Cook County records show he was born at home, located at 350 W. 2.2 Crazy House: Further Adventures in Chicagoĭarger was born on April 12, 1892, in Chicago, Illinois, to Henry Darger Sr.Darger's artwork has become one of the most celebrated examples of outsider art. : 106 Much of his artwork is mixed media with collage elements. The visual subject matter of his work ranges from idyllic scenes in Edwardian interiors and tranquil flowered landscapes populated by children and fantastic creatures, to scenes of horrific terror and carnage depicting young children being tortured and massacred. He has become famous for his posthumously discovered 15,145-page fantasy novel manuscript called The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What Is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinian War Storm, Caused by the Child Slave Rebellion, along with several hundred drawings and watercolor illustrations for the story. ( / ˈ d ɑːr ɡ ər/ Ap– April 13, 1973) was an American writer, novelist and artist who worked as a hospital custodian in Chicago, Illinois. Painting, collage, novel, pencil and pen drawing, sketchingĬrazy House: Further Adventures in Chicago