Elegant Enigmas: The Art of Edward Gorey

Gorey's wry, creepy art brings a smile every time, and Karen Wilkin is one of my favorite art critics, so this book was a delight. The interesting essay by Wilkin gives context on Gorey's life and influences, and the generous sampling of artwork gives a nice taste for many of Gorey's books. I was impressed by the quality of the binding & paper and the clarity of the art reproduction. It's a lovely book. I smiled and chuckled from cover to cover.

As for the artistry, humor, and tales of Mr. Gorey, I feel safe in averring that those to whom Mr. Gorey appeals will find Mr. Gorey to be appealing. Those to whom not, not-so-much. Likewise for Hannity and Hannity-watchers. [Yikes! Could it be I who lacks the least little bit of grey matter and a discernable sense of humor?]Might I recommend Gorey's THE HAPLESS CHILD?The features that I like most about Mr. Gorey is that he lived a long life and that was very prolific! Consistently entertaining and impressive. Strong evidence, perhaps , that God exists. As for youse Hannity and Trump devotees, I wish you well! Let not your brain be troubled.As for AMAZON, they're excellent at getting orders in my hands, in great condition, before I order them. Not unlike my doting and attentive wifey. Kudos to her and to all those dutiful AMAZON employees!

"Elegant Enigmas" catalogs the contents of a traveling Gorey exhibit from a few years ago. The book is heavy on original art reproduction and slim on any new biographical content (slim, that is, if you have read "Ascending Peculiarity").With the name Pomegranate affixed as publisher, you know you will be presented with high quality printing, and an overall well-made book. Image selections from Gorey's well-known works (such as Doubtful Guest, Hapless Child, Willowdale Handcar, Gilded Bat, Deranged Cousins, etc.) look BETTER in this book (with thick semi-gloss paper) than in the Amphigorey collections (standard thinner paper). There's also a number of color images, including rare designs for a 1983 Mikado production. Reproductions of envelopes Gorey sent to his mother, drawn while he was attending Harvard. And the most interesting inclusion of all: drafts for book ideas. Draft of a Blue Aspic image. Alternate covers for Fatal Lozenge and Object-Lesson.Buy it for the art and the behind-the-scenes drafts.If you are looking for a lot of biography material, you're probably better off with "Ascending Pecularity". (NOTE: Pomegranate's "Floating Worlds: The Letters of Edward Gorey and Peter F. Neumeyer" is also an excellent, excellent work. If you read the Letters book, you'll feel like you had a chance to visit with the man himself.)

The book arrived quickly and is in excellent condition, it looks new. Thank you

This book is full of wonderful pictures from Gorey's career, including concept sketches as well as finished drawings from every area of his career. A nice substantial introduction covers his life and career and paints a nice portrait of the artist's character. I enjoy going back to the book often just to lose myself in Gorey's unique world of characters and ideas. If you are a fan you have to have this book, although if you're a fan you probably have all the original books and have already have all the art work included. It may be better as an introduction to Gorey, which is was for me. Includes some stage design work from productions THE MIKADO and DRACULA, but not nearly enough--there could be an entire chapter devoted to DRACULA and I wish there was. Still, it's a fantastic book.

I truly hate to give this book a poor review because I absolutely love the strange, surreal and wonderful work of Edward Gorey. Quite prolific in his life, Edward Gorey produced lots of work beyond the illustrations he produced for books. When I received the book I was quite disappointed while leafing through its pages. I had expected an overview if his work with a focus on drawings, envelopes (he drew on them often when he corresponded), and illustrations that were prominent or worth mentioning. Unfortunately, while the book does give the reader a sample of Mr Gorey's work the bulk of the book is a near chronological list of his books and a reprinting of select pages. This would book would only appeal to Gorey's fans and such is a waste as they most likely already own many og the books already and have seen the art before. There were a few surprises but overall there was not much reason for me to thumb through the book repeatedly.

Get it!

Ugh! I love this book!!!!! 😭

As a collector of almost anything relating to Edward Gorey, I found this book to be excellent in every way.The content was informative, the illustrations were well chosen and the printing quality was remarkable.

Not knowing anything about this man, it was all very interesting.

A wonderful book crammed full of Ed's fine line artwork. The man's warped view of the world is always a pleasure and his illustrated short stories are always as esoteric as they are entertaining. This is, as the title suggests, a stand alone compilation of some of his finest artwork.

Purchased as a gift, the person I bought it for said it's excellent and inspired them.

Mais um livro sobre o incrível artista Edward Gorey.Neste livro, de 123 páginas, capa dura, há uma proporção maior de imagens que texto. O livro está dividido em:Um texto com algumas imagensImagens de livros do GoreyImagens de livros ilustrados para outros escritorese por fim alguns trabalhos variados, inclusive alguns inéditos (envelopes que o artista ilustrou, de cartas que ele enviou para a mãe).