Enter into the world of Henry Darger the man, and one enters a solitary room where the rhythm of life seems subdued: early morning mass, daily constitutional, and endless solitude. Enter into the world of Henry Darger the author and illustrator, and the universe explodes with terrifying storms, torturous battles, and tethered preteen girls—all there to be tamed and rescued. Darger was born in Chicago and orphaned at an early age, and he spent part of his childhood in a boys’ home for the feebleminded in Lincoln, Illinois. He repeatedly tried to escape, and at age sixteen he finally succeeded. In Chicago he became a dishwasher and janitor at local hospitals, occupations he held for some fifty years.

This reclusive, religious man created a 15,000-page novel about another world torn apart by war. Entitled The Story of the Vivian Girls in What Is Known as the Realms of the Unreal of the Glandelinian War Storm or the Glandico-Abbienian War as Caused by the Child Slave Rebellion, the epic narrative unfolds with seven little girls—the Vivian Girls—rescuing children who have been enslaved by the adult Glandelinians. The heroes in this tale are always the children; the villains are almost always adults. Darger’s several hundred paintings—often double-sided and of mixed media, measuring in length from a few feet to more than ten—are intended to accompany the story, although they each possess an overwhelming individual presence.

Darger made up for his competent drawing skills with his adroit handling of composition and his almost magical use of color. In this piece, little girls harnessed with the most enviable of butterfly wings—Darger called these hybrid creatures “Blengins”—chase away the evil adults. Darger has invested his painted skies with personality—he meticulously maintained several diaries of local weather and clearly was taken with weather patterns. In this piece, fluffy clouds appear like shadows from the preceding image’s warring scenario.

On the reverse side, crowds of animals, evil men, and innocent children overrun a lush botanical landscape. The image resembles a surreal version of Central Park on a Sunday, and its joyful palette and healthy foliage entice the viewer. Upon closer inspection, however, the saccharine hues of the fruit and trees underscore the violent acts perpetrated against the little girls by an endless array of men. Soldiers, Mexican banditos, generals, and even a John Wayne—type figure have roles in Darger’s evil doings. The adult cast strangles innocent children, all girls, until they are purple and ready to explode, much like the larger-than-life grapes hanging from the trees or the violet plumes growing from the green lawn. To add to this bizarre spectacle, many of the girls are nude and appear to have penises.

Brooke Davis Anderson, "Picture One. This scene here shows the murderous massacre still going on before the winged Blengins arrive from the sky," in Stacy C. Hollander, American Anthem: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum (New York: Harry N. Abrams in association with American Folk Art Museum, 2001), 391—392.