News 2014: UMass Dartmouth CVPA exhibition showcases the works of American illustrator and author Edward Gorey

News 2014: UMass Dartmouth CVPA exhibition showcases the works of American illustrator and author Edward Gorey
UMass Dartmouth CVPA exhibition showcases the works of American illustrator and author Edward Gorey

Special exhibition can be seen at University Art Gallery at the Star Store Campus in New Bedford through November 2, 2014

UMass Dartmouth's College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) proudly presents the "'E' is for Elephants, The Etchings of Edward Gorey," an Exhibition of the work of the American author and illustrator organized in collaboration with the Edward Gorey House. This special exhibition can be seen at the University Art Gallery at the Star Store Campus in Downtown New Bedford between September 23 and November 2, 2014. The exhibition reception will be held October 9, 2014, at 6:00 p.m., during AHA! Night in New Bedford. The reception will feature a lecture by Professor Memory Holloway and a documentary screening of Rough Cut Screening: The Last Days of Edward Gorey."

A large selection of works representing the latter years of Mr. Gorey's career will be on display. Limited edition prints, as well as, numerous original etching plates will be on view to reveal a "behind the scenes" look at Mr. Gorey's artistic process. Accompanying the art will be an installation composed of the artist's printing press, personal belongings; memorabilia, scholarly ephemera and other objects, as well as a multi-media presentation of photographic still lives documented at his Yarmouth Port, MA residence by CVPA professor and exhibition curator James Edwards.

Edward St. John Gorey (1925-2000), gave to the world more than one hundred published titles, including "The Gashlycrumb Tinies", "The Doubtful Guest" and "The Wuggly Ump", in addition to, Tony award-winning set and costume designs for innumerable theater productions from Cape Cod to Broadway. Mr. Gorey also contributed a remarkable number of illustrations in publications such as "The New Yorker" and "The New York Times", and in books by a wide array of authors from Charles Dickens to Edward Lear, Samuel Beckett, John Updike, Virginia Woolf, H.G. Wells, Florence Heide and many others. His well-known animated credits for the PBS Mystery series have introduced him to millions of television viewers.

Beyond his literary and picture-making pursuits, Edward Gorey was deeply invested in the protection of animals large and small and acted upon this passion with the full force of his creative and personal resources. The exhibition aims to extend this legacy while providing access to the private world of one of the most important figures in American literature and the visual arts.