HENRY DARGER | Spangled Child Headed Blengin. All Nations of Christian Nature. All Islands of Every Sea.

Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner

John M. MacGregor, Henry Darger: In the Realms of the Unreal, New York 2002, cat. no. 7.8, p. 357, illustrated in color
Andrew Edlin, Sound and Fury: The Art of Henry Darger, New York 2009, p. 55, illustrated in color
Klaus Biesenbach, Henry Darger, New York 2014, p. 73 illustrated in color

This work is in very good condition overall. There is evidence of wear and handling to the edges, consistent with the artist's working method and the environment in which the work was discovered. There are artist pinholes in the corners and minor losses to the sheet in the upper right and lower left corners. The colors are bright and fresh. The sheet is hinged verso to the mat at the corners. Framed under Plexiglas.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Darger described in detail a being he devised and dubbed Blengins in The Realms in an essay “What Are Blengiglomenean Serpents?”  Blengins are a varied form appearing to have dragon-like characteristics.  John M. MacGregor, in his encyclopedic book Henry Darger: In the Realms of the Unreal, concludes that the various individual illustrations of Blengins were likely made during one relatively brief phase and appear to be directly connected to the essay. Darger explained the present lot: "Even when full grown they are short in length. But, nevertheless, they are very monstrously just the same and can exceed the length of eight hundred feet. There are eighty feet broad, ninety feet high at the highest part, and have wings extending upward, when fully open, that exceed three hundred feet. They are beautiful to behold, in colors and face, and sometimes exceeds in beautiful appearance the most dainty little girls ever seen. When working their way along the ground, they have a habit of lifting their hands high in the air clasping together as if in the act of praying, and thus is the reason they obtain this kind of name. They are seen frequently in the Blengiglomenean and Boyking Islands, but also they are seen in the Catherine Isles. Some are beautiful in features and complexion even in the males, and no beautiful child in the world can exceed their pretty faces when the creatures are young. Hanson calls them Praying Rebbonnas. Their scales are generally all around the entire body and are all in one color on the body, excepting the face and arms which have a peculiar yellowish tan color" (Henry Darger, The Realms, Vol. 1, Ch. 4, p. 35).  The Realms, Vol 1, Ch 4, p. 35.

This unexpected image, which perfectly embodies the peculiar religious impulses of the Blengins, was arrived at by tracing a picture of a child at prayer, a subject always enormously attractive to Darger. and then, incongruously but convincingly, adding to it the thick body of a serpent and an enormous set of wings. In his text he struggles to imagine how such a creature could move along the ground while its hands were raised in prayer. A dense texture of overlapping scales covering all of the lower parts of the body was laboriously applied with a pencil over an undercoat of dull red. The body color, including an attempt at flesh tones, is relatively subdued until, suddenly, the huge pair of wings fills the picture with overwhelmingly intense color, including, once again, spangled yellow dots on a vermilion red ground.

Its upward-lifting outstretched arms and rainbow-colored wings express divine adoration and figuratively relate directly to the depictions of angel Gabriel in Renaissance Art.