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Talk:Henry Darger/GA2

< Talk:Henry Darger
Latest comment: 8 months ago by Noleander in topic GA review

GA review

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Latest comment: 8 months ago10 comments2 people in discussion

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Nominator: Generalissima (talk · contribs) 04:52, 2 October 2025 (UTC)Reply

Reviewer: Noleander (talk · contribs) 00:39, 4 October 2025 (UTC)Reply


Progress template for GA review by Noleander

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Comments from Noleander

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But inspecting the report, they are both false positives. The textual overlaps are proper names, book names, etc. So, no issues there.
  • Out of curiosity: what is the reason this book was not used as a source?
    • Elledge, Jim (2013). Henry Darger, Throwaway Boy: The Tragic Life of an Outsider Artist. Overlook Duckworth. ISBN 9780715646328.
Was it duplicative of other sources already used in the article?
  • Partially that, but several reviews of it called it out for taking a lot of 'creative liberties'; see Bonesteel's review of it here (which I cite), where he says Elledge extrapolates from facts to create biographical re-enactments that are pure fiction. Because it's very hard to tell at any point which parts of the books are scholarly and which are dramatizations, I didn't feel comfortable citing any of it. Generalissima (talk) (it/she) 01:08, 4 October 2025 (UTC)Reply
Ah, okay. Thanks. Noleander (talk) 01:34, 4 October 2025 (UTC)Reply
  • ... on that same image: I see it is stored in English Wikipedia. Is it not in Wiki Commons because it is copyrighted? I thought fair-use images could be put into Wiki Commons. No big deal, the image file location is not relevant to GA review, I'm just curious.
  • Wording clarity: Scholars have assigned many different psychological conditions to Darger, with the initially prevalent views that he was a pedophile or murderer having been discredited. A bit awkward. Consider something like: Scholars have hypothesized several different psychological conditions Darger may have suffered from. Theories [by whom?] that he was a pedophile or murderer have been discredited. (if you don't mind ending a sentence with a preposition).
    • Good idea, rephrased.-G
I'm not sure if those are legitimate, but if they are, they should be linked at the bottom of the article. Even if they are kinda ugly prints, readers will want to directly view some of his writings.
    • Oh, I mentioned these in the article (they're the Illinois State Library digitization), but good idea to link em. These appear to be two uploads of the same set of works.-G
  • ... continuing prior note: Is there any benefit to having a "Works" section at the bottom of the article that lists selected works: books and art? Not extensive, maybe five or ten most notable items. Even if internet links to the works/books/art do not exist: just listing the works will be important to some readers. I realize the article already has a "Collection catalogues..." section, but that is distinct from a list of works: the Collection links go to museums etc that have professionally curated & edited data; a "Works" section is simply a bulleted list that give readers a brief overview of what Darger produced (without having to visit an external site).
    • Hmm.. I feel that wouldn't be necessary, since I already list all his written works under 'Art and literary work', while his paintings are so numerous it'd be very difficult to select a small sample from it that wasn't arbitrary
  • At the top of the "Collections" section are two items:
The layout is confusing: the second item (Thevoz) is indented under the Anderson item. What does the indentation mean? Is the Thevoz item related to the Anderson item? Is the indentation a mistake?
  • Ah yeah, this is because there's an essay by Thevoz within the book. But you're right it's confusing when its the only example. Anderson is the editor of the book, so it works to just credit him as editor. -G
  • Clarify: Darger described initially hating children younger than him and bullying them, which he retrospectively attributed to a lack of siblings; however, he wrote that he grew deeply fond of children slightly later in life. I'm not sure how to interpret the word "slightly" in this context, .... can it be omitted? Sentence seems fine without it.
  • Fixed.-G
  • Wording: ... and at one point unsuccessfully arranged for one of his relatives to adopt him. Consider ... and at one point unsuccessfully attempted to have one of his relatives to adopt him.
    • Dropped the unsuccessfully, as "attempted" i think inherently implies failure.
  • In the section about galleries and donating art to museums, is it possible to add anything about sales? Did the Lerners make any money selling the artwork? Reading between the lines it seems like they did.... it would be nice to have some specific numbers.
    • I looked quite a bit for more info on that, but I couldn't find any broader statistics on it :( I think the Lerners were deliberately cagey about it (makes sense considering there was always a potential copyright dispute). A couple high prices at auctions is all I could gather.-G
  • In the paragraph about galleries and donations to museums, in one sentence says "the Lerners donated...", and then the next sentence says "she donated..." A slightly confusing alternation between the individual and the couple.
    • Fixed.-G
  • The article has two informational footnotes. In the body they are denoted with superscripts [α] and [β], but in the "Notes" section they are named (1) and (2). A fix, which I tested, is: in the Notes section, change <references group="lower-greek" /> to {{notelist-lg}}
    • Ooh! Thank you, I had never found that fix before. -G
  • Age at time of book access: His depictions of crossdressing and transsexual elements may take inspiration from Princess Ozma from the Oz series, a character magically transformed into a boy as an infant but destined to become the queen of Oz. Consider mentioning something like ... Ozma was first presented in the popular book series when Darger was 12 years old .... Ozma was first presented in 1904, but many readers will only know Oz from the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz, which came out when Darger was 47 years old; but the books with Ozma were available to him starting when he was age 12. Mere suggestion; not required for GA.
    • Well, we don't know when Darger actually read the Oz books. He might have read them as a kid, but we just knew that he read them at some point before the series was finished, which could have been as late as the 30s. Judging by his source material for art, he probably read kid's books throughout his life. -G
  • Synonyms or a list? ...Darger became popular with enthusiasts and scholars of outsider art or Art Brut, a movement which celebrates art by ... It is not clear if "outsider art" and "art brut" are two synonyms of the same concept; or two distinct concepts. The following phrase "a movement which,.. " is singular, which doesn't resolve the ambiguity, since if they are two distinct concepts "a movement" could refer only to the latter.
    • Good idea, clarified.-G
  • Ambiguity: Darger's illustrations have become more well-known than his writings. These have never been published beyond brief excerpts, ... When I first read that, I thought "They" (start of 2nd sentence) referred to the illustrations; I realized several words later that "They" meant the writings. Because the entire paragraph begins with "Darger's illustrations ..." some readers, like me, will initially assume the whole paragraph focuses on the illustrations. Consider something like Darger's writings are less well-known than his illustrations. They have never ...
    • Good idea, fixed.-G
  • Described by Darger scholar John MacGregor... MacGregor is prominent in the article ... is it possible to mention his credentials or field? Literature professor? Art Historian?
    • Art historian, clarified.-G
  • Wording The Lerners were reportedly defensive of him as a tenant, despite suggestions from other landlords that they evict him. Phrase "defensive of him as a tenant" doesnt seem right. Maybe The Lerners were reportedly protective of Darger, keeping him as a tenant despite suggestions from other landlords that they evict him.
    • Fair, clarified.-G
  • This article hints that the Lerners (especially Kiyoko) may be untruthful about the fact that Darger gave them ownership of the art, and it is possible they do not have ownership Darger's art (e.g. the lawsuit by Darger's relatives). The article has several laudatory comments about the Lerners, which I'm guessing are based on the Lerner's own statements? Example: One year as a Christmas present, they lowered his monthly rent from $40 to $30. and Although he rarely socialized with his housemates, they frequently brought him food and cared for him when he was ill. I suggest using words like "reportedly" when the article repeats statements originating from the Lerners that portray the Lerners in a positive light. "Reportedly" is already used at The Lerners were reportedly defensive of... ... and it is useful and accurate there. I suggest inserting "reportedly" in the two sentences identified above. It is a neutral, factual, objective word (in contrast with "claimed" which carries stronger connotations ). Of course, I have not read all the sources... maybe RS say that the Lerners did, in fact, do many generous deeds? But were those RS dependent on the Lerner's to obtain permission to reproduce Darger's works in the RS's own books on Darger? That would make the RS not reliable in regard to how the RS present the Lerners (that is, if the RS offended the Lerners, the RS could not include Darger's art in the RS's book). Bottom line: including the word "reportedly" is accurate and objective, and let's the reader know that the fact originates from the Lerners themselves. [Not required for GA, but a strong suggestion].
    • That's a good idea, added a 'reportedly'.-G
  • A few random source spot checks:
    • Cite [67] MacFarquhar 1997. - Source supports the body text.
    • Cite [106] Moon 2012b, pp. 105–106. - Source supports the body text.
    • Cite [4] MacGregor 2002, pp. 43–45. - Source supports the body text.
  • The evolution of scholarship in the "Mental Health" section is significant. I like fact that the year 2001 is mentioned here: Later, in his 2001 monograph... . Could a year be provided for a couple of other milestones, such as: John MacGregor described him as stunted in his... or Moon dismissed a sexual interpretation of his work, ... or Art scholar Mary Trent dismissed interpretations ... As a reader, I want to know if this evolution spanned months? years? decades?
    • Good idea - added some clarification of MacGregor (though there's not really firm dates on when he started studying, though he was at least doing it by the early 1990s).-G
  • Prose quality: Yes, overall the prose is outstanding and satisfies GA. (A couple of minor issues are noted above).
  • Manual of Style: Yes, the article is consistent with WP MOS guidelines. (A couple of minor issues are noted above, e.g. the greek letters in footnotes).
  • Verifiability & Sourcing: Yes, the material in the article is supported by reliable sources, and citations are provided to connect material to the sources.

Pass 2

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  • Consider tweaking image Alt text a bit:
    • "A photo of a grave marker reading "Henry Darger, 1892-1973, Artist, Protector of Children" - Consider deleting words "A photo of" per MOS:ALT which says "All readers will be aware this element is an image, so adding "photograph of" isn't usually necessary."
    • "Henry Darger in old age, sitting down on a stairway and looking down" Not sure he is looking down; maybe mention the mustache since it grabs one's attention.
      • Tweaked these.-G
  • Repetitive wording: In Henry Darger, Throwaway Boy, Elledge argues that Darger was exploited as a child prostitute and sexually victimized throughout his youth, arguing that his books function ... e.g. "argues" -> "contends"; or "arguing" -> "suggesting", or similar.
    • Fixed.-G
  • Present vs Past tense: Overall, article is great on tenses. But maybe the "Mental health" section could be tweaked? Generally I expect present tense for actions of scholars/critics/historians; but past tense for actions of Darger. E.g. He [Moon] theorized that Darger's frequent depiction of violence against young girls might have its origins in the frequent depictions of such acts in media coverage of lynchings and race riots during his childhood,[111] while other scholars suggest that they may be inspired by Catholic depictions of martyrdom, which often juxtapose physical suffering and spiritual transcendence. (emphasis added). Is "theorizes" better for Moon's analysis? and is "were inspired" better for events a century ago?
    • Fixed.-G
  • I examined all additional images, not listed above, and verified free-to-use.
  • If you want the Categories at bottom to be alphabetized (not a GA or FA reqrmt) then "American naïve painters" should be moved.
    • Done.-G
  • is there any information about the specifics of how he committed words to paper? I see that he owned a typewriter; and the Int. Archive work of his appears to be single-spaced (with no errors?). Do any sources discuss this? Did he ever write longhand? Did he ever type a draft, then re-type a clean version? Did he ever discard material? I'm sure readers would be eager to know anything the sources say on this.
    • Added a little bit of this, talking about the handwritten documents we know of.-G
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