The illustrations and stories of Edward Gorey (1925–2000) display a Victorian and Edwardian sophistication while maintaining a delicate yet witty balance between the hilarious and the horrific. Elegant Enigmas includes an illuminating array of more than 170 works, such as original pen-and- ink illustrations, preparatory sketches, unpublished drawings, sketchbooks, illustrated envelopes, book-cover ideas, theatrical costume designs, and ephemera—all drawn from the Edward Gorey Charitable Trust.

Exhibitions generously sponsored by:

Co-presented by the Loyola University Chicago Libraries. Elegant Enigmas has been organized by the Edward Gorey Charitable Trust and the Brandywine River Museum, Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania.

Image: Edward Gorey, B is for Basil assaulted by bears from The Gashlycrumb Tinies, pen and ink, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1963, Illustration © The Edward Gorey Charitable Trust. All rights reserved