American , 1892-1972 ••• Henry Darger is with certainty one of the most important Outsider artist of the past century. His body of work consists of a 15,000 page manuscript and well as several hundred large-scale watercolor and collage accompanying illustrations to his epic tale "The StoryDarger was a recluse who lived through a troubled childhood in Chicago Illinois. He spent what money he made on copies and enlargements of magazine clippings which he would later trace on paper and afterwards join the panels together to form large horizontal panels, coloring them with watercolor. His landlord discovered Darger’s work shortly before he passed away. In 2000 the American Folk Art Museum in New York City established the Henry Darger Study Centre "to foster open inquiry and multidisciplinary research into the life and work of the Chicago artist".

Darger's work is a highly complex hybrid of a nearly incomprehensible narrative revolving around an apocalyptic war between young girls and an army of brutal soldiers. The universe Darger created is so rich with mythology - including maps, flags, fantasy creatures, songs, andgraphically violent imagery.